SeventhYear: The Next Generation
by ThaniMag
Summary: The first six years at Hogwarts has gone relatively smoothly for Scorpius and Albus. But now, going into their seventh and final year, these two best friends  will get caught up in things way over their heads.
1. Scorpius's Idea of Fun

Chapter 1: Scorpius's Idea of Fun

"Look, Hugo has a new girlfriend."

"She's a tart, he'll be through with her by the end of next week."

"Why do you say she's a tart?"

"Just look at the way she let's him kiss her in public. Definitely a tart. No decent girl would allow that."

"I like tarts."

"What?"

"They're way better than scones," said Scorpius. A look of wistfulness adorned his face. Albus just looked at him with wry amusement.

It was loud, crowded, and rather rowdy in the Gryffindor common room. The fire was high in the grate, every little bit of space was crammed with people standing elbow-to-elbow, and the air was smoky from all the Filibuster Fireworks that were being set off in celebration.

The first Quidditch game of the season had been a blow out. Albus and Scorpius had proven that they were still the dynamic duo this year that they had been throughout their past six years at Hogwarts.

With Albus as Seeker, and Scorpius as one of the three Chasers, the Gryffindor Quidditch team was nearly impossible to defeat. Scorpius's favored position was Seeker, but as everyone had expected, Albus turned out to be a prodigy at that particular post.

Two white arms slid around Scorpius's shoulders from behind, but he didn't even flinch in surprise.

"Are you calling me a tart, or just saying that I don't taste very good?" asked Rose in a singsong voice, as she planted a soft kiss on Scorpius's cheek.

"It's not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, Rose. But no. See, I happened to get the best of both worlds. You taste even better than a tart, but in every other regard you don't share any similarities with a one."

Rose laughed gently, as she rested her chin lightly on Scorpius's shoulder.

"Hey, Rose," said Albus, amused.

"Hallo, cousin. Good game today," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

"Why, thank you," said Albus, pulling his feet up and laying them on the low coffee table in front of his seat.

Albus and Scorpius were sitting side-by-side on one of the large red couches, enjoying basking in their victory. Scorpius was especially loving it. He always did.

"Rose, your brother is getting rather carried away over there..." said Albus, putting his hands beneath his head and resting back.

"Yes, I can't say I approve, but he won't listen to me. I didn't even bother butting in and trying to put a stop to it," said Rose, standing up straight and looking over to where Hugo was enjoying some post-victory snogging.

"That girl either doesn't know very much about Quidditch, or just wanted an excuse to kiss Hugo, and didn't actually care what happened in the game," said Scorpius, disdainfully watching Hugo and the girl in question.

"Oh? Why's that?" asked Rose.

"Because, if she knew anything about Quidditch she would have realized that Hugo only scored once, but I scored five times. Thus, she should be over here snogging me," said Scorpius, with a facetious grin up at Rose.

Rose slapped him lightly on the top of the head. "But that's _my_ job."

"I was hoping you would say that," said Scorpius, his grin growing wider. He leaned his head back farther, and puckered up his lips playfully, waiting to be kissed.

"Ah, but see, you just got finished talking about how I'm not a tart." The corner of Rose's mouth twitched into a half-smile nonetheless.

Scorpius sighed loudly and gave Albus a dramatic, woebegone look. "You have to give me credit for trying."

Albus chuckled softly.

"Anyways, I'm going to head to the library. We have that Herbology essay due on Monday, and I want to get started on it. Besides, it's way to smoky in here," said Rose, crinkling her nose in distaste as some whooping first-years set off a couple more fireworks.

"Oh, come on Rose. It's Saturday night, and the whole house is partying. Why would you go lock yourself up, alone in the library? You know you could easily finish that essay tomorrow in no time at all." Scorpius sounded as if he knew his cause was already lost.

Rose raised her eyebrows at Scorpius. "You know I like to get things done well ahead of time. Besides, I don't really care for wild parties. The noise, chaos, and rambunctiousness drives me crazy."

Scorpius sighed loudly again, showing his obvious displeasure.

Rose smiled down at him. "You'll be alright, you have Albus to entertain you."

"Yeah, except for Albus would lose a battle of wits with a monkey. Make that a stuffed monkey. Just in case you're not catching my drift, that means he's not able to entertain me," Scorpius complained.

"I do too have wit, and I'm hilariously funny," said Albus indignantly. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"You couldn't make a hyper adolescent crack a laugh."

"I could too, I have plenty of good jokes," said Albus, glaring at Scorpius.

"The only good joke you ever made was being born," said Scorpius complacently.

Rose rolled her eyes, and started to head for the portrait hole, planning to leave Scorpius and Albus to their bantering.

"Trying to slip away without me noticing?" asked Scorpius in annoyance. "You know that will never work. I see everything, and I'm always specially tuned to where you are."

Rose looked back over her shoulder. "I knew it wouldn't work, but I wasn't trying to get away without you observing me. I was just making a definite step in the direction of getting out of here."

"Without saying goodbye?" Scorpius put on a sad face. "You hurt me deeply, darling. It's like a taste of poison, like a blade to my heaving bosom." He acted out thrusting an invisible dagger into his heart.

"Goodbye, sugar." Rose blew a kiss at him over her shoulder and laughed, before turning and exiting the common room.

"Some little twerps get full-out snogging sessions, without even committing themselves." Scorpius waved a hand in Hugo's general direction. "I have an actual girlfriend, and what do I get? Air kisses," Scorpius grumbled to Albus.

Albus just chuckled once more.

"This is no laughing matter, Albus," said Scorpius in an injured tone. "You're supposed to comfort me, not make me feel worse by laughing at the dark agony of my soul."

"What can I say? I've never been the empathetic type, or sympathetic either for that matter." said Albus leaning forwards to grab a Pumpkin Pasty from the tray on the coffee table.

"What's the difference between those two again? I can never remember..." Scorpius looked thoughtful. After a moment of one of his rare silences: "Stupid English language, makes no sense at all I tell you. Arabic, now there is a good, solid, understandable language." Scorpius looked quite satisfied as he put forth this last opinion.

Albus choked slightly on his bite of pasty. "Do you even know anything about Arabic?" he asked once he had recovered himself.

"No, but that is an unimportant detail," said Scorpius, with impatience. "You know, I met an Arab once. Fellow had a big, black beard. He looked kind of angry, but I couldn't understand anything he was saying." Scorpius looked thoughtful once more. "Maybe that's why he was so angry, because no one could understand him. Though, that's hardly enough reason to be so angry."

Albus shook his head in disbelief. "Where did you see this Arab?"

"Gringotts."

"And wouldn't _you_ be rather upset if you couldn't understand anything anybody around you was saying? I think it would feel rather like suffocating."

"Suffocating? What are you talking about? But no, I wouldn't mind not being able to communicate with anyone. You'd be surprised what waving a really big stick at someone can do. Everyone understands what a whop with a piece of wood means."

Albus decided not to make a reply to this comment, and instead grabbed another treat from the coffee table. As he sat back he had to duck quickly as a Fanged Frisbee went soaring past where his head would have been.

"Hey, watch it!" he yelled at the third-year who had thrown it.

"Sorry, sorry Albus!" cried the poor boy, who looked quite distressed at having upset the captain of the Quidditch team.

"It's no trouble, just take more care in the future," grumbled Albus.

However, the third-year's conscience was not set at ease. He quickly rushed to Albus's side. "What can I do to make it up to you, Albus?" he asked anxiously.

"Nothing, nothing, it's okay, really, er...?"

The kid's face split into a grin. "Creevey, Colin Creevey Jr. Though my dad's name is Dennis. Colin was my uncle he was."

"Figures," muttered Albus under his breath.

"Do you want me to polish your broom or something, Albus?" Colin's forehead was creased with worry.

"No Colin, it's fine, just go enjoy the rest of the party."

"But–"

"Stop annoying him kid. Beat it, or I'll force feed you Puking Pastilles for the rest of the month!" barked Scorpius.

Colin's face paled visibly, and then he turned and fled.

Albus sighed, as Scorpius grinned at Colin's fleeing back. "You didn't have to do that, the bloke just wanted to make up for accidentally chucking that Frisbee at me."

"He was just brown-nosing, besides, he needs to learn that kissing the ground people walk on is not how you get anywhere in life."

"Still, he didn't need to be dealt with that harshly."

"Oh come on, Albus, he'll get over it," said Scorpius, annoyed at Albus not being more grateful for his disposing of Colin.

Just then, Hugo threw himself into the armchair across from them. His red hair was in disarray, and his cheeks were flushed. He grinned at them. "Hiya Scorpius, Albus."

"'Lo Hugo," said Albus, looking with disapproval at Hugo's disheveled Quidditch robes. "Been enjoying yourself, have you?"

"You could say that." Hugo's grin grew even wider –if that was possible. He wasn't embarrassed at all.

"Good work, Hugo," said Scorpius, a twinkle in his eye.

Hugo chuckled. "Thanks, Scorpius."

"Scorpius, don't encourage him please," complained Albus.

"Oh, but see, he's not my relative to be worrying about." Scorpius smirked over at Albus.

"You always have to make my life more difficult, don't you?" demanded Albus.

"Oh yes, it's so much fun to get you worked up."

"I do _not _get worked up," said Albus, looking pointedly away.

"And you never deny anything."

"Nope, not ever."

"Of course."

"Yes."

Scorpius's eyes were sparkling with mirth, as he grinned over at Hugo, who returned a grin just as large.

Hugo reached for a glass of cold pumpkin juice. "Is it just me, or is it quite hot in here?" He tugged at the neck of his robes.

Scorpius laughed. "It is a little warm in here, I'll admit. But I doubt that really has anything to do with why you're overheated."

"I guess that's true," said Hugo, smiling to himself.

Albus turned and glared at his cousin.

"Relax Albus, you need to learn how to enjoy yourself more," said Scorpius stretching out his legs, and leaning back further into the cushions.

"Just because I actually try to be responsible, doesn't mean I don't know how to have a good time," Albus muttered.

Scorpius shook his head. "You're always as stiff as a board, Albus. Maybe you need to follow Hugo's lead and get a good snogging session. That would be sure to cheer you up. Don't worry, I'm sure there's at least a couple of girls around here who wouldn't mind kissing a Quidditch captain and hero, even if he is a boring old miser like you." Scorpius and Hugo were grinning like mad at each other once more.

"I'm not boring."

"Albus, you wouldn't know fun if it was holding onto your hair and screaming in your face: 'fun has struck again!'"

Albus sighed in defeat. "Okay Scorpius, I know what's coming. What is it you want to do now?"

Scorpius smiled from ear to ear. "Get your broom and invisibility cloak, and come with me."

"Can I come?" asked Hugo, eagerly jumping to his feet.

"No!" said both the older boys immediately.

"Fine," sulked Hugo, going off to find some of his other friends.

"No way. You've got to be kidding me, Scorpius." Albus was standing at the edge of the Astronomy Tower, and was staring over the side of the parapet. The drop was sheer and long; the ground could barely be seen hundreds of feet below them.

Once they had grabbed their brooms, the two boys had snuck past the revelers and out of the common room while beneath the invisibility cloak. They had slunk through the abandoned and dark corridors, creeping along like criminals in the night.

When they had reached the Astronomy Tower, Scorpius had dumped the cloak unceremoniously on the floor, and immediately rushed over to the wall.

Albus, after picking up his beloved cloak that had once belonged to his grandfather, had gone over and stood next to Scorpius, peering over the edge.

"Do you want to get us killed?" Albus asked in disbelief.

"Oh come on Albus, now _this _is going to be fun."

"It doesn't fit my idea of fun if you end up as dog food, splattered in a ten foot radius. And I don't think the school would appreciate us redecorating for them either." Albus was still gazing down into the darkness, hoping against hope that Scorpius would give up on his crazy idea.

"Albus, trust me, when are my plans ever not safe?"

"Always." Albus pointed out.

"Okay, that's true. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to use that argument," said Scorpius placidly. "Anyways, when are my ideas not _fun_?"

"I guess they might be considered fun if you think of near-death experiences that way," muttered Albus to himself.

"Come on Albus, it's time to start."

Albus looked up now, hearing Scorpius's voice from a different position. "What are you doing? Get down from there you idiot!" he yelled.

Scorpius was now standing up on the parapet, his broom in one hand.

"Relax Albus." The half-full moon's light shown off of Scorpius's blonde-white hair, bleaching it to silver. His face was cast in shadow, so Albus couldn't make out Scorpius's expression clearly, but he thought the other boy looked rather exasperated. "You know we're both good enough fliers to pull this off. Neither of us will get hurt in the slightest."

"What exactly is it you plan on doing, anyways?" grumbled Albus grudgingly.

Scorpius smiled in the partial darkness, knowing he had won. "We jump," he said simply, indicating the open space beside the tower.

Albus clambered onto the parapet and stood beside Scorpius, maintaining his balance by stretching out his arms in both directions. He had his broom ready in one hand. "We just jump? And what, fall to our deaths?" asked Albus, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on Scorpius's face and trying not to look at the long drop right next to him.

"Try not to be thick on purpose, Albus," complained Scorpius. "That's where our brooms come in handy." Scorpius waved his broom in Albus's face. Scorpius, unlike Albus, looked like he was completely at ease standing just inches from possible death.

"Hey, stop that!" said Albus in annoyance, but unable to do anything because he was still using both his arms to try and keep his balance. "Why couldn't we just stay with the party? I thought you liked being the center of those type of things," complained Albus.

Scorpius shook his head. "Parties are good and all for awhile, but they get dull fast. This is going to be a lot more exciting." He smiled broadly.

Albus groaned. "Is there anything I can say or do to make you change your mind?"

"Nope." Scorpius grinned. "Goodbye, Albus."

Albus's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I go first, there's no guarantee you'll follow."

Albus's eyes widened in surprise. "You wouldn't."

Scorpius only grinned wider in response.

Albus turned to jump down from the danger of the parapet, but he was too late. Stretching out his broom, Scorpius rammed the end of it into Albus's side.

Albus's eyes went wide in horror, as he swayed back and lost his balance, tumbling over the edge of the parapet.

"Don't steal all the fun, Albus!" laughed Scorpius, throwing himself off the top of the low wall after his friend.

The two teenagers tumbled towards the ground. The air tore at the scarlet Quidditch robes they still wore. The wind whipped through their hair.

Scorpius whooped with delight as he fell. Albus yelled in mixed terror and surprise.

Scorpius stretched his limbs out in all directions, enjoying the thrill of the fall. Albus struggled with his broom, attempting to get astride it.

Finally, Albus managed to gain control of his broom. He was just fifty feet from the ground when he pulled to an abrupt stop, breathing heavily. "I swear, one day Scorpius is going to be the death of me," he muttered to himself, looking down for Scorpius.

Scorpius was still zipping towards the grass at the foot of the tower, not looking like he was anywhere close to stopping.

"Does that idiot have a death wish?" hissed Albus angrily.

Just a few feet from what would have been a nasty collision, Scorpius whipped his broom between his legs, pulling up sharply and whipping along just inches from the top of the blades of grass.

Reluctantly, Albus allowed half a smile. "A feat that would have made Wronski himself proud."

Scorpius made a quick turn, and came soaring back, still close to the floor. Just as he came to where the wall entered the earth, he pulled upwards, soaring parallel to, and just barely off of the stone tower. Scorpius flew past Albus so fast on his way up the Astronomy Tower that Albus was left spinning in a circle from the wind blast that hit him.

Albus had to clutch at his broom to make sure he didn't fall off. Scorpius looked back over his shoulder at him, and laughed.

"Why you–" Albus drowned out his own voice as he shot after Scorpius.

The two of them collapsed over the top of the parapet and onto the cold stone tiles.

Scorpius threw his head back and laughed.

Albus's chest was heaving up and down. "You– are– inconceivable!" he gasped between breaths.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Say what you like Albus, you can't deny, that was fun." Scorpius's usually blue eyes were silver in the moonlight. They shone with exhilaration.

"Well... maybe a little," Albus replied grudgingly.

"Round two?" Scorpius asked with enthusiasm.

Albus sighed. "Okay, but if you knock me off this time, it won't be pretty for you."

Both boys got to their feet simultaneously.

With a cry of delight, Scorpius ran and threw himself off the tower.

Albus sighed once more, and followed it up with a smile. It was impossible for him to not break down and have a good time with Scorpius.

Breaking into a sprint, Albus leaped over the parapet. Diving towards the ground, he let go of his worries. He let himself be immersed in the moment.

**Author's Note:**

**This is my opening chapter for this new fic. I hope you enjoy, and that you don't give up on it yet if it didn't capture you right away! Please review and tell me your thoughts. Criticism is welcomed.**


	2. Of Death Threats and Disturbing Kisses

Chapter 2: Of Death Threats and Disturbing Kisses

He forced himself to drag his eyelids open. It was like opening heavy shutters reluctantly on a cold winter's day. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he pulled back the curtains of his four-poster. Immediately he shut his eyes again, as the sun burned his dilated pupils.

Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, he slowly opened his eyes once more. This time he gave them ample opportunity to adjust.

He was alone, the room was void of any other living form. The scarlet sheets of the other beds were crumpled messes on their respective four-posters. Only one four-poster had been carefully made. He smiled to himself. Albus.

The bright morning sunlight poured through the windows, leaving burning pools of liquid topaz on the floor. He could hear birds singing sweetly from somewhere outside.

Rising to his feet, he dressed quickly and left the dormitory, making his way to breakfast.

Upon arriving in the Great Hall, he threw himself into a seat, grabbed a piece of toast, and began to butter it.

Albus watched him from across the table. "Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Where's Rose?" Scorpius reached for the jam.

"She was only down here for a few minutes, said something about the library and excused herself pretty quick."

"What?" Scorpius stopped in the middle of preparing his breakfast. "She can't be planning on spending all day in there, can she?"

Albus shrugged. "Well, she is Rose."

"But it's such a beautiful day outside! It would be a travesty to spend all that time with your nose in a moldy book."

"Maybe she went right away, so that she could finish up whatever she was doing before you got up?" Albus pointed out.

Scorpius thought about it. "Maybe... but you never know with her." He bit off a chunk of his toast.

Albus looked back down at the copy of _The Daily Prophet_ that was spread in front of him.

"Anything interesting?" asked Scorpius around his food.

"Not unless you're interested in Zacharias Smith's love affair with Hannah Boot."

Scorpius snorted. "You'd think that every once and awhile that old hag Rita Skeeter would write something people actually want to read about."

"You'd think so, but she's always been more interested in the latest love scam. I always wonder why _The Prophet_ keeps her. I've always thought she would be more at home with _Teen Witch Weekly,_ or some other trashy magazine."

Scorpius pasted an expression of injured outrage onto his face. "Hey, I happen to own every issue of that magazine. I think it makes quite good reading material."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Just because you make the cover every once in awhile, shockingly, does not make it worthwhile, Scorpius."

"You're just jealous they've never asked you to come in for one of their photo-shoots."

"Yes, Scorpius, I'm jealous that I don't get to walk around posing in my underwear, so that a bunch of giggling teen girls can goggle at my sexy body."

"For that to happen, Albus, you would have to _have_ a sexy body," said Scorpius, with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Merlin, you can be frustrating!"

"Wouldn't you love to be me?" said Scorpius, leaning back and striking a pose. "I would brush back my flowing locks for a dramatic effect, but I have pumpkin juice in one hand and toast in the other. It would be quite messy."

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" It was Elsa Baddock, a Ravenclaw seventh-year. She had stopped in the act of passing by. She was now looking curiously out at Scorpius from her long, flowing red-gold hair.

"Why, just letting you have a chance to feed your eyes on my gorgeous figure, darling," said Scorpius with a smile.

Elsa's eyes narrowed. "You do have some decent looks Malfoy, I'll give you that, though you flaunt them a bit much."

"Just decent?" asked Scorpius in an injured tone.

"Well, maybe better than decent, but don't let your head get so big you can't get it out of bed in the morning."

"Don't worry, I can handle my ego like Inigo Montoya handles a sword."

Elsa laughed; Albus found the sound kind of disturbing, but he couldn't have said why.

"If Rose ever loses interest in you, Malfoy, just let me know," she said coyly, with a sly smile. And with that, she turned around and flounced off, her long red hair swishing back and forth behind her.

"Watch it, Scorpius," warned Albus.

Scorpius laughed. "Don't worry Albus, this heart of mine belongs to one girl only. Speaking of that girl, I'm going to go get her. I don't care if I have to drag her out of this castle, I'll get her out of that infernal library, somehow."

"Good luck with that. Though, if anyone could do it, it would be you."

"I'm glad to see you have faith in me, Albus."

"What can I say? After six full near-death-experiences-ridden years, I've come to see what you're capable of when you set your mind to something."

"Are you going to come help me get her?"

"Nah, I've got something else to do. Besides, I wouldn't want to intrude on you two star-crossed lovers."

Scorpius stuck out his tongue at the other boy, before getting to his feet and leaving.

Albus watched his friend go, desperately wishing he could have his support in what he was about to do.

Sighing, Albus dumped the newspaper onto the table before exiting the Great Hall himself.

**. . . . . .**

Albus dispiritedly made his way to the fourth floor corridor. Looking around to make sure he was alone, he pulled back the portrait of the large black bear. Stepping out onto the stone tiles that were revealed beyond, he looked around.

He was on a narrow stone walkway that went along the outside of the castle. It was high up in the air, and hugged the wall as it ran along it, twisting out of sight around the curve of the school. A low crenelated parapet, that hopefully would keep one from falling off, bordered the walkway.

Albus started along the path, trying to enjoy the large expanse of blue sky above him, and the sunny grounds a ways below him. He himself was in the shade, the walkway running along the west wall of the castle, and it still being slightly before noon.

It had only been a couple of weeks since he had gotten the first letter. It had been a parchment rolled up and tied with a silver and green ribbon. At first glance, he had assumed it was a love note from some delusional girl –boy, had he been wrong.

The parchment had contained a map to this concealed path, and an elegant script that had directed him to come alone, and at midnight.

This, of course, had in Albus's mind confirmed that it was just some love-sick teen. It wouldn't have been the first one to come his way. Knowing that Scorpius would just make a big joke out of the whole thing, Albus hadn't told his best friend. But as midnight had drawn closer, something in Albus's gut had directed him to go, and go he had.

Albus sighed. How he wished hadn't.

Turning around the last bend, he finally arrived at the tower. It was nestled into the castle just-so, so that the only way to notice it would be if you were flying, and accidentally stumbled right upon it. There was no way you could find it if you didn't know it was there.

She was waiting for him. Her wavy, raven-black curls cascaded like a waterfall of darkness around her pale face. They pooled on her shoulders, shining even though she was in the shade.

"You're a little late, Albus," she said gently, her ruby-red lips pursing as she stared at him.

"Well, don't be offended if I tell you that I hardly look forward to our meetings," he said tightly.

"Oh? But don't you look forward to seeing me?" She walked up to him and traced her finger along his chest as she strode around him.

Albus shuddered violently. He snatched her hand and tossed it away from him. "Don't _touch_ me. There's only so much I'll put up with," he hissed.

She stuck out her lower lip, pouty. "I thought you liked me?"

"Then only thing I like _less_ than you is cancer."

She laughed, it was like honey pouring over hidden shards of ice. "But you think I'm beautiful, don't you?"

Albus sighed, exasperated. "I don't suppose you'd believe me if I said no?"

Her dark eyes sparkled. "Nope."

"Then why do you ask me?" he asked between gritted teeth.

"I like playing with you."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Could we please get on with this? Why did you call me here?"

"You're no fun," she pouted again.

"That's what I hear," muttered Albus to himself.

She walked over, and perched herself on the top of the parapet. Her body faced toward him, but she looked over her shoulder and out across the grounds.

Albus resisted the urge to push her off. He wasn't one for murder –not yet anyways. But if he had to take much more of this...

"Did you find out when the Ministry Officials' meeting is?" she asked, still not looking at him.

"Yes."

"Well? When is it?"

"Two weeks from today," he said coldly.

"And all the Aurors have to go to this particular one, correct?"

"Yes."

"Are you positive of that?" she asked harshly, now looking at him.

"That's what Scorpius's dad says, and he should know, being an Auror," he said angrily.

"Good," she said, suddenly smug.

"You won't ever tell him, as long as I help you, right?" asked Albus, his eyes flashing. She nodded quietly. "You swear it?"

"I already did," she snapped.

"If you ever, _ever_, break that promise, I tell you, I will find you, no matter where you are, and I _will_ kill you."

She giggled. "Albus, you simply _must_ make death threats more often. You can't take them seriously at all, and that makes them quite entertaining. You should get Scorpius to create one for you, I'm sure he could come up with something quite a bit more colorful."

"Yes, I'm sure," said Albus quietly. "But remember that, if you ever plan on telling him, I _will _find you."

She sighed dramatically now. "Yes, Albus, I know." She jumped lightly down from her perch.

"Be ready for the next time I call you." She walked up to him, placing her cool hand on his cheek –half-way cupping his face.

Albus closed his eyes, trying to ignore her close proximity.

"Hold up your end of the bargain, and he'll never need to know."

And then it was over, her hand was gone, and she was walking down the walkway that was behind him, striding away from him. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

"Goodbye, Albus."

"Don't call me that," he growled.

He didn't turn around, but when he heard her voice, he could tell she had stopped walking.

"Oh? It's your name isn't it? What should I call you?" she demanded.

"Anything, as long as it isn't so informal, so... personal," he ground out.

Her laugh came trailing over to him as she started walking again –it was followed by her voice. "You really shouldn't let me know any of your pet peeves, Albus, because I'll just use them all the more against you."

When her footsteps finally died away, Albus released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. His upright shoulders sagged, and he walked over to the parapet and leaned heavily on it.

He could see the lake a good distance away. The sun shone on the surface, turning the water to a metallic blue that acted like a mirror. He could vaguely see a couple of figures swimming in the shallows, enjoying the lovely day.

Sighing, he put his head into his hands.

"Albus, what have you gotten yourself into?"

**. . . . . .**

Scorpius blinked, and peered around the library. Here and there, students were poring over textbooks, studying or completing homework. Madam Flora, the librarian, stalked here and there, looking for troublemakers or disturbers of the peace.

Scorpius set off into the rows of bookshelves, looking for his girlfriend. He personally detested the library. Not because it was the home of so much books, but because it was so closed up, so contained. It made him feel like he couldn't breath.

He could never understand how so many people were working away on a Sunday morning, when it was so amazingly beautiful outside. Then again, he was a notorious procrastinator, and never did anything more than the night before it was due.

Scorpius's gaze wandered, searching. He fought the urge to laugh when he caught sight of a jumpy looking second-year, who was picking his nose as soon as he thought no one was looking.

He stopped and looked down when his foot accidentally hit something. An old paperback book lay at his feet. Stooping, he scooped it off the floor and read the title.

It turned out to be a play. "_Twelfth Night_?" Scorpius asked of the air. "A story full of loves that were never meant to be..." he said softly to himself, staring at the cover. He knew the tale well, his mother having insisted that he knew something of the Muggle world. His dad had not liked the idea, but his mother had put her foot down. His education of the other world that ran along side the wizarding one turned out to mainly consist of literature that his mother was infatuated with, rather than any information that was actually that useful.

Scorpius had always wondered why the current Headmistress had expanded the library to hold so many Muggle texts. It struck him as being rather wasteful, because most of the students only read their school material. And even if they did read something just for enjoyment, it was unlikely to be something Muggle.

Without thinking, Scorpius stuffed the small book into one of his robe pockets, and continued his search for Rose. Finally, he spied her.

She was sitting back in a corner, at a table squashed between two towering bookshelves. Her head was bent over an immense tome of a book, that was open in front of her.

The sun sliced through the window behind her. It turned her bushy, brown hair into a burning fire that radiated light.

Her face was cast in shadow, but Scorpius could still make out the features he knew so well. The soft hazel eyes. The smooth curve of her chin. Her rosy cheeks that matched her name. The small, cute nose that he loved so much.

He stood in the darkness of shadows cast by a row of shelves. Watching Rose study was one of his favorite past times. He simply adored the way her eyebrows furrowed when she was thinking hard. The way she gently turned the pages of a book, as if she was handling a priceless jewel.

His memory went back to the first time he had felt a twang of something more than just friendship for her.

It had been back in his third year, when he and Albus had thought it would be cool to go into the Forbidden Forest. They had gone slightly further than they had meant too, and had gotten lost. They had stumbled upon the nest of spiders, that lived deep in the center of the forest. Of course, Scorpius and Albus had turned and run for their lives. Scorpius's foot had caught on the edge of a large tree root, and he had fallen flat on his face. Turning, he had seen a large spider leaping towards him.

And that's when she had appeared, seemingly out of thin air. After protecting Scorpius long enough for him to get back on his feet, she threw each of them one of the three brooms she had brought along, and they had flown out of there immediately.

It was at that moment, when he was laying on the dirt floor of the forest, terrified and out of his wits, that he had felt the first growth of feelings he didn't understand. The fearless confidence and intelligence with which she acted seemed to draw him to her.

He smiled, as he thought about how she had lectured them about breaking school rules, after they had returned to the safety of the castle. And how she had told them that they were stupid, to not think of bringing something like a broom along that would guarantee a safe escape. And –Scorpius grinned widely at this part– how _especially_ furious she had been when she yelled at them for not inviting her along.

Jumping back into the present, he stepped out from the shadows. "Hello there, oh flower of mine."

Rose looked up, startled at first. Slowly her face drew into one of those smiles that knocked the breath out of him. It was one of those smiles he would fly to the moon and back just to see. He would trade every sunlit day just to see her face glow like that all the time.

He walked over to her, and looked down at her. She beamed back up at him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would be out, enjoying the weather with Albus."

"I've come to be your knight in shining armor, the one that rescues you from the evil tower of despair, a.k.a, this library." He waved his hand in a general gesture, that encompassed the large room.

"I don't know...there's some stuff I need to do, Scorpius..." she said, doubtful.

"Oh come on. It's beautiful outside, Rose. We can take a walk by the lake. Or anything really, I just want to be with you."

"But–"

"Please, for me?" he whispered.

She hesitated. "Okay, if it's what you want."

"You're _all_ that I want." He smiled.

Taking her hand, he pulled her to her feet, and gently kissed her. It was strange. It wasn't their usual shared kiss. There was no warmth exuding from Rose's lips, they weren't as responsive, there wasn't that feeling of sharing a special moment together. It was as if she was reluctant, or as if her mind was elsewhere.

Scorpius pulled back, looking at her curiously.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, clearly confused.

"No, nothing," said Scorpius, his eyes slightly narrowed in calculation. "Let's go."

He turned and started to walk with purpose out of the library, dragging a slightly uncooperative Rose along by the hand.

Scorpius suddenly felt a searing gaze on him that rested between his shoulder blades. It felt like all the loathing and hatred that could ever be possible was burning into his back.

Scorpius turned, looking towards where he felt he was being watched from.

There, sitting at the same table Rose had been just moments before, was a tall, pale boy with carefully combed brown hair.

But as soon as Scorpius turned towards the boy, he could no longer feel the gaze on him at all. Though the boy _was_ watching him with careful dark eyes. The boy's expression was smooth and blank, void of all emotion.

Scorpius's brow furrowed in confusion. He couldn't remember the boy being there a moment before, but there was no way he could have seated himself in the time between when Scorpius and Rose had turned away from it, and now.

Shrugging it off as just a weird experience, Scorpius turned his back on the boy, and began to pull Rose along again.

Long after Scorpius and Rose had left the library, the boy sat at the table. He stared off out the window, his face as blank and smooth as when Scorpius had seen him. But every five minutes or so, an expression would contort his carefully placed mask into an ugly, twisted thing; it would then return to normal a moment later.

**Author's Note:**

**If you would just leave a review with your thoughts on the fic so far, I would be much obliged.**


	3. The Rose

Chapter 3: The Rose

_The rose_

_Blood-red_

_The blood-red rose_

_Perfectly created_

_So delicate_

_So beautiful_

_Can be crushed in an instant_

_A snap, and its life is snuffed out_

_Its fragrance_

_Sweet and enticing_

_Holds so many dreams_

_So many passions_

_Yet so quickly it fades_

_How long_

_How long_

_Will it adorn the field?_

_It attempts to hold off its inevitable fate_

_It grasps at life_

_Its petals reaching for sun_

_Its roots for water_

_It wants life_

_They all do_

_How much can it get?_

_How much will it suck up?_

_Before its short life is over_

_Here a second_

_Gone the next_

_It's the blood-red rose_

Scorpius rushed Rose along, down corridor after corridor, heading steadily for the outside. They walked in silence for the moment, Scorpius being still preoccupied with the strange incident in the library.

Scorpius knew the boy; well, by sight anyways. He was a seventh year Slytherin who was in Scorpius's Potions class. His brow wrinkled in concentration as he tried to remember what little he knew about him. The only thing he could recall was that he was an excellent student, yet a very quiet boy who rarely let a word slip past his lips.

In Scorpius's memory, what few interactions he had had with the boy had given him the distinct feeling that the boy disliked him. This in return had earned the boy Scorpius's own disliking.

_Bollocks, what was his name?_ thought Scorpius to himself in irritation.

The idea to ask Rose had crossed Scorpius's mind, but a strange feeling in his gut had prevented him. So, he planned to wait and ask Albus.

As they crossed the entrance hall and stepped out onto the grounds, Scorpius looked down at his side to see Rose quietly contemplating.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, studying her face carefully.

"No, not at all. I just had something on my mind."

"Yes?"

"It's nothing of importance, really." Scorpius continued to tow Rose down towards the lake.

"If it was, you would tell me, right?" He still watched her carefully.

"Of course," Rose said briefly, with a strained smile up at him.

They reached the trail that lead around the lake. The two of them had walked it's worn path many times, sometimes alone together, and sometimes with Albus as well.

The narrow lane was close enough to the water for someone to cast a stone in, but far enough to be under the shade of the trees that ran alongside it.

It was on a walk down this path that Scorpius and Rose had shared their first kiss.

Scorpius remembered the experience like it was yesterday, though in reality it had been last spring. He could feel her small fingers clasped at the nape of his neck. He could hear the birds singing in the trees. He could smell the soft scent of her hair. It smelled like books, and ink, and flowers –all that was her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Scorpius started out of his reverie. "What is?"

"The lake." Rose was staring out over its large expanse.

Scorpius turned his head, following her gaze.

The water looked like liquid jade. The sun sent up sparks off its surface. It was almost too bright to look at.

"Yes, it is." He stopped.

Rose looked up at him questioningly. "Something the matter?"

"No, I was just thinking about our first kiss." He was still gazing over at the lake.

"Oh."

Scorpius quickly looked down at her, but he wasn't quite quick enough, and missed the expression that had flitted across her features in a second.

Scorpius smiled wryly. "If I remember correctly, Albus was there."

Rose laughed lightly. "Yes, he was, but he was also kind enough to leave quietly. While we were, er, still otherwise engaged."

Without thinking about it, Scorpius twirled her around so that she was facing him, and kissed her. At first she was reluctant, like in the library. So Scorpius kissed her more intensely, trying to get her to relax and open up. Which she did.

She let her arms slide around his waist, she pulled herself closer to him, and for a moment, for a brief moment, Scorpius could almost believe that it could have been any other of their shared kisses.

But there was still something wrong, something that didn't feel quite right. Pulling himself back, Scorpius looked down at her. Her wide eyes locked with his in surprise. There was something... something he couldn't put his finger on. It was there, hiding just out of reach.

Scorpius decided to put that train of thought away until he had more time to think about it. Changing the topic, before Rose could even ask him what was wrong, he said, "I'm worried about Albus."

"Wha–?" Rose took a step back in surprise at this unexpected turn of events.

Scorpius was peering over Rose's head, at the lake. "He's been acting differently lately."

"How so?"

He looked down at her, his eyes full of concern –but it wasn't for her. "He's more reserved, as if his thoughts are always somewhere else."

"That's hardly enough reason to be worried Scorpius–"

"But there's more. Things that are just purely uncharacteristic of him. He's not been eating much; he just plays around with the food on his plate –he's losing weight because of it. I often catch him staring at everything around him, as if he's trying to take it all in, as if he's about to lose it all."

Rose was becoming impatient. "Scorpius, you need to relax. This is his seventh year at Hogwarts, as it is yours and mine as well. He's just already missing the school. In a sense, he will be losing all of it."

Scorpius shook his head fervently. "I don't think so, that's not like Albus, besides–"

"Scorpius!" Rose said sternly, stepping closer to him and cupping his face in her hands by placing one on each cheek. Then more quietly, she said, "Trust me, it'll all be okay. He's just going through a brief spell. He'll be back to the Albus we know and love in no time. Trust me, I'm his cousin, I know him better than practically anyone."

Scorpius was still unconvinced, but he realized Rose was not going to give him the reassurance he really needed, so he dropped the subject.

They started to walk on again. They were silent for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.

Scorpius stooped down and scooped up a pebble from the rocky path beneath them. He held it in his open right palm while he drew his wand.

"What are you doing now?" asked Rose, as they strode on.

"Just watch," whispered Scorpius quietly. "I've been working on this just for you." A brief look of concentration flashed across Scorpius's face. "_Transfiguro!_" The small bit of stone in his palm started to squirm and move.

"Wha–?" began Rose.

"Watch!" said Scorpius urgently.

The pebble started to lengthen and thin out. Suddenly petals began to sprout from it, and it started to change color. A few more moments, and there in Scorpius's open hand lay a rose. It was blood-red and its stem was unblemished by thorns.

Rose inhaled sharply.

"Like it?" asked Scorpius with a smile.

Rose stared at it, open-mouthed. "It's – it's gorgeous!" she gasped out.

Scorpius smiled to himself as he handed it over to her and started to stroll on, whistling quietly.

Rose stood staring at the flower in her hand, before quickly running to catch up to Scorpius.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"Oh, not very long. It really wasn't hard to learn at all."

Rose was quiet for awhile, just looking down at where the rose was curled carefully in her hands.

Scorpius was busy watching a couple of kids who were swimming in the shallows of the lake. Every time one of them dived beneath the surface, he would send up a splash of water that glittered like diamonds in the sun.

_Like diamonds, or possibly, angels,_ thought Scorpius to himself.

They were just now completing their circuit of the lake. Scorpius stopped and looked down at Rose. Slowly he raised his hand and ran it gently through her wavy brown hair.

She wasn't looking at him, but still down at the flower in her hands. "I – I'm sorry, Scorpius, but there are some things I still need to get done in the library."

She looked up quickly here. "But I really enjoyed the walk, and I love the rose."

Scorpius sighed, and dropped his hand from her hair. "Okay, run along. I'll go see if I can find that bundle of bones and flesh I call my friend Albus."

Rose smiled at him. Standing up on tip toes, she laid a quick kiss on his cheek. Then she ran up the hill to the entrance hall, turning briefly to wave once.

_What is going on? First Albus is acting strange, and now Rose, too?_ He stood a good while after Rose had gone, still quietly watching where the last bit of bushy brown hair had whipped indoors.

**. . . . . .**

When Albus made his way to lunch, he found Scorpius lost in thought. Scorpius had his elbow on the table, and his head resting in his palm. A bit of untouched pot-roast sat in front of the boy.

"What's on your mind?" asked Albus, sliding into the seat across from his friend.

Scorpius's eyes widened in surprise as he looked up.

Albus frowned. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No, not at all," said Scorpius, sitting up straight hastily. "Well, nothing that's not usually there anyways."

"I repeat myself, what's on your mind?"

Scorpius sighed, sticking his fork into the bit of meat on his plate. "Rose."

Scorpius didn't offer to say anything else. So Albus stuck in a thoughtful "Ah..."

When the blonde boy continued to be silent, Albus got impatient. "Yes? What about Rose?"

Scorpius blinked. "What about her?"

Albus threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. "I don't know, that's what I'm trying to find out. Stop being daft, and tell me what's bothering you."

"Oh, sorry," muttered Scorpius.

Albus felt his temporary anger flood out of him like a deflated balloon. "What is it, Scorpius? Something must be wrong to get you this down. You're rarely sentimental."

"Well, I'm not _down_ precisely. Just been thinking a lot."

"About...? Let's try and make _some_ progress in this conversation, shall we?"

"Well, Rose has been acting odd lately. She's spending a lot of time in the library –even for her." he added hastily at the look on Albus's face. "Look, she didn't even come down for lunch."

"Rose often skips lunch when she's in the middle of something she's working on. It's no big deal."

"But it's not just that... She's..." Scorpius trailed off, thinking that it would sound kind of funny to say that she wasn't kissing the way she normally did. "I just have this feeling, that something's not quite right. And she doesn't seem to be acting like herself. I should know, she's my girlfriend."

"Hm... I can't say I've noticed, and I know her pretty well, too. But then again, I don't play as close attention to her as you do, so I might be missing things. She seemed normal enough at the celebration last night, didn't she?"

"Well, normal enough. I've been noticing her odd behavior for awhile now, but it's just been small things, so I've waved them off. But... more and more now, I'm noticing things. Things that just don't fit with the Rose I'm used to. Whatever it is, it seems to be speeding up."

Albus's brow furrowed in worry. "Well, I don't know what to say. Have you tried talking to her about it?"

Scorpius laughed slightly, but it was without humor. "No."

"Well, maybe you ought too."

Scorpius shook his head. "Not unless it keeps going."

Albus sighed in annoyance. "Scorpius, you can't just put it off. Not communicating is what causes rifts between people."

"Oh yeah?" Scorpius shot at him. "Then what about you? I've noticed you acting odd lately, too. Don't you dare try and deny it. I should know."

Albus stiffened visibly. "I haven't a clue what you're talking about."

Scorpius snorted. "Your such a bad liar you can't even convince yourself."

"What do you know about how, or how not I'm acting?" asked Albus angrily. "It's not like you can read me like a book. Besides, you pay more attention to Rose than to me. You wouldn't even notice if I started acting oddly."

"You honestly think I pay more attention to Rose than to you?" Scorpius said it so quietly, Albus couldn't be sure he heard right. "Albus, I can read you better than I can read a book." Scorpius's last sentence was spoken at a normal volume.

"What makes you think that?"

"Maybe, because I've happened to spend the vast majority of the last six years with you," said Scorpius fiercely, through clenched teeth.

Albus and Scorpius glared at each other across the table in a steamy silence. Green eyes locked with blue. Emerald with Sapphire.

"It's nothing, leave it, Scorpius," snapped Albus.

"Come on Albus, you know you can tell me anything. Don't be daft."

"Scorpius, this does not concern you," growled Albus.

"Again, the lie. Albus, what are you hiding from me?"

"Just leave it!" Albus was on his feet, and almost yelling now. Other students were starting to turn and watch them.

Scorpius stared up in surprise. They watched each other for a moment. "What are you trying to protect me from?" asked Scorpius, quiet enough that only Albus could hear.

Albus glowered at Scorpius for a moment before turning and marching out of the Great Hall, leaving plenty of eyes watching him go.

**. . . . . .**

Lily Potter stood in the entrance to the Great Hall. She scanned the Hufflepuff table, looking for any of the friends she usually ate with. Not seeing any of the students from her own house that she liked to eat with, she turned and scanned the Gryffindor table.

Her eyes found where her brother and Scorpius sat opposite each other. She found it amusing to watch them, because they formed such contrasts when juxtaposed; surprisingly, neither of them had ever noticed it.

She watched them argue. Blonde-white, silky-fine hair on one side; jet-black, curly-thick hair on the other. Green eyes across from blue, each equally brilliant. The sharp cut of Scorpius's features that were all angles, fine enough to cut paper; the softer, smoother bones of Albus's face.

Even their personalities were so different. Albus, capable of fear, yet he disguised it well. Scorpius, who never seemed afraid, even under the most terrifying circumstances. Albus, cool and calculating, taking in every angle of a situation. Scorpius, acting on a whim with sharp, instinctive insight.

It was fascinating that such opposites could be such good friends. Or maybe that was _why_ they could be so close.

Albus leapt to his feet, and was clearly angry. Lily watched them stare at each other for a moment, and then she saw Scorpius's lips move, though there was no way of knowing what he said.

Albus came storming down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables. He stomped by Lily without even noticing her.

"Typical," muttered Lily.

Scorpius was now looking up at the where Lily stood, but he was clearly not seeing her, his mind obviously being preoccupied.

_Gah! Will no one ever take notice of me?_ thought Lily bitterly.

Scorpius looked back down at the table for a moment, before reaching into his robes and pulling out a book. He promptly began to read it.

Lily walked down towards him, being careful to walk lightly enough to not alert him to her presence. When she was directly behind him, she reached over his shoulder and plucked the book out of his hand.

Scorpius looked up in surprise, saw Lily, and smiled wryly. "Oh, it's you, Lily."

"Who did you think it would be?" asked Lily, sliding into the vacant seat next to her brother's best friend.

Scorpius shrugged, unresponsive.

"_Twelfth Night_?" asked Lily, confused.

"It's a Muggle piece of literature. Well, it's a play actually," said Scorpius, giving no sign at all of being disturbed by the recent argument with his friend.

"I know what it is. I'm not ignorant. You know, my dad did grow up in a Muggle household."

Scorpius blinked at her. "Well, you sounded–"

"Not because I didn't know what it was. It's just, I never took you for being one who read Muggle romances."

"It's a comedy first, a romance only secondly," Scorpius pointed out. "I stumbled upon it. I decided it must be the hand of fate. Besides, it passes the dull hours during which my girlfriend hides in the library, and my best friend is too angsty to talk to me."

Lily raised an eyebrow at Scorpius. "I didn't know you stumbled, you've always struck me as being too elegant and smooth for that kind of thing."

"It's a figure of speech, Lily. I don't stumble."

She stuck a tongue out at him. "Aren't _you_ perfect."

"Well, I am a slave to popular demand, and expectations," said Scorpius wearily, standing to his feet.

"Why do you care so much about what other people think of you?" asked Lily hastily, trying to make Scorpius stay longer.

Scorpius looked down at her with rather strained patience. "Because, if you don't believe in a God, who is there besides people to do anything for?"

He started to leave, so Lily said the first thing that came to her mind, "Well, what about yourself?"

Scorpius turned back in surprise. "What would be the point of doing anything for myself?"

Nothing came immediately to Lily's mind, so she just sputtered incoherently.

"See you around, Lily." Scorpius flicked her ear lightly before turning and walking briskly away.

Lily stared after him, a mixture of emotions churning in her abdomen. _Why, _why_ does he have to make me feel like such a child? And why, _why_ does no one think I'm worth bothering about? This is how it's always been. Scorpius, Albus, and Rose –the perfect triangle that no one can penetrate. The heroes that everyone loves, the next era of champions... and here _I _am, stuck in Hufflepuff. None of them ever have the time for me. _Lily thought to herself miserably.

An unfamiliar weight in her hand drew Lily back to reality. "Oh dear!" she said, looking down at the book clasped tightly in her grip. "I do believe I have Scorpius's _Twelfth Night_."

**Author's Note:**

**Please, PLEASE review if you think this story has ANY potential at all. Reviews are the best support an Author has. Tell me what you like about it, what you dislike about it, anything. Even if you just leave two words, "I liked", I would be so grateful. Anyways, if you like this story, stay tuned for more, it'll just get better, just get more exciting. The poem at the beginning is one of my own creation, called, shockingly, The Blood-red Rose. It was not created specifically for this story, it was something I wrote awhile ago and decided to stick in. Stay tuned.**


	4. The Threestemmed Pricker

**Author's Note:**

**Danielle Salvatore:**

**Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad you love both the characters, and I hope that feeling just grows as you get to know them more. I will continue to update as fast as I can. :)**

**WingsofGold:**

**Thanks so much for both reviews. Your constant reviewing in my last fic was SO helpful.**

**JuicyPumpkin:**

**Thanks you so much for your review, know it is really appreciated. I'm glad you like the fic so far, even though it wasn't originally what you were looking for. And thank you so much for the compliment on my writing style. :)**

**~ThaniMag**

Chapter 4: The Three-stemmed Pricker

Scorpius sucked on the end of his quill thoughtfully, doing his best to remember all that he could about the effects of Three-stemmed Prickers on the environment.

"Dratted Herbology essay," he muttered to himself under his breath.

Scorpius was a bright student, and didn't usually have any trouble with school assignments. However, having thoughts of Rose and Albus bouncing around his head did not help his ability to concentrate.

At the moment, Scorpius was sprawled in a corner of the common room. A relatively blank piece of parchment, and a couple of textbooks lay on the floor in front of him. Picking up one of the books that was entitled _Uncanny Plants and Where to Find Them_, Scorpius flipped through to a promising looking passage. After a couple moments of quick reading, he found what he was looking for.

_Three-stemmed Prickers are native to the rainforests of South America. These tropical plants cause it to rain in a large radius around them, when they are stroked just-so under the third stem. Because of this, they are desperately sought after, by those who enjoy gardening or farming. In 1763, Matilda Puckeridge brought one all the way from Brazil to her home in Nottingham. However, the plant was not happy with being forcefully taken from its home, and drew a large thunder storm over her house. A bolt of lightening struck Matilda's mansion, and burned it down with her husband still inside._

There was a cry of alarm, causing Scorpius to quickly look up. A group of third-years, who had been playing a game of Exploding Snap, had somehow managed to set one of the large scarlet couches on fire. Colin Creevey was bouncing around on the balls of his feet, waving his arms about hysterically.

"What an idiot," said Scorpius, watching as the seventh-year prefect, Emily Thomas, put out the fire. He quickly went back to his reading.

_When the first stem is stroked, the Three-stemmed Pricker will release an intoxicating scent that draws all creatures to its vicinity. This fragrance is so powerful, it is said to mesmerize all who smell it except the stroker himself._

_ The plant can be identified by the bright blue markings near the end of the second stem._

Scorpius drew his parchment toward him, and was just about to start writing when the portrait hole swung open.

Albus clambered into the common room.

Scorpius knew immediately that Albus had been flying. His dark hair was wind blown, and even more askew than normal. His eyes had that shining clarity they possessed after Albus's partaking in his favorite hobby. Flying had always been Albus's way of clearing his head.

Albus looked around, and his gaze came to rest on Scorpius, sitting in the corner with his work.

Scorpius didn't turn away. He just sat, watched, and waited for Albus to make a move.

Albus shook his head, as if to try and make sense of something, then came and threw himself down next to Scorpius.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked, peering at Scorpius's essay.

"Herbology essay," said Scorpius succinctly.

"Bollocks," said Albus glumly, "I forgot all about it."

"Did you know this plant apparently mesmerizes all creatures that smell it?"

"Wait, really?" asked Albus, responding instantly and with more enthusiasm than Scorpius had been looking for.

"Er, yeah...why? I mean it's kind of interesting, but nothing that exciting," said Scorpius, looking curiously at his friend.

"Oh, nothing. I just thought that was pretty...cool," Albus finished lamely.

"Albus?" asked Scorpius, watching his friends suspiciously. "What's going on?"

"Is that burn marks on the couch?" Albus abruptly tried to switch topics.

"Yes, but that's not important."

"Who did it?" asked Albus with faked interest, trying to get Scorpius's attention away.

"That Creevey kid," said Scorpius.

"He seems to have a knack for trouble."

"Yes, but that's not the point–"

"Where's Rose?" asked Albus desperately. This, unlike his other attempts, managed to get Scorpius distracted briefly.

"In the stupid library, still," said Scorpius with annoyance.

"What?" asked Albus in surprise. "You mean that besides that brief period of time this morning, she's been in there all day?"

"Yes, I told you she was acting strange."

"That is a bit bizarre..." said Albus, trailing off in thought.

"Are you going to tell me what is going on with you?"

"No," said Albus stubbornly.

Scorpius sighed with exasperation. "Albus, don't make me rip it from your throat."

"Just leave it, won't you?" demanded Albus.

"Don't make me slip some Veritaserum into your pumpkin juice," hissed Scorpius.

"Where did you get your hands on Veritaserum?" asked Albus in disbelief.

"I stole it from the Potion's supplies, where else?"

"Your bluffing," Albus declared bravely, but he didn't seem too sure.

"You really willing to risk your deepest secrets to me, Albus?" asked Scorpius, a glint of humor in his eye. "I know how you secretly have a thing for Professor Sinistra."

"She's six times my age!" declared Albus in horror.

"Yes, your tastes are quite appalling, Albus. I'm disappointed in you."

"I never–" started Albus.

"Oh shuttup, will you, Albus? This is not the point. Just spill the beans, or I'll rip them right out of your hands," said Scorpius angrily.

"I'm being blackmailed," Albus said it so fast and so quietly it took Scorpius completely by surprise.

"You're...what?" asked Scorpius, blinking at Albus in surprise and confusion.

"I do hope you know what blackmailing is," said Albus wearily, looking at his hands that were laying in his lap.

"Who is stupid enough to blackmail _you_ of all people?"

"Stupid is one thing this person is not," said Albus, looking up with blazing eyes.

"Well, then who is he?"

"It's a she."

"A she?" asked Scorpius, staring at Albus in stupid disbelief.

"Yes, you know, those members of our species who are of the opposite gender? Those ones who fascinate Hugo's every waking moment? One of those things who is your girlfriend?"

"I now what a she is, you prat. Anyways, who is this particular she?"

"Aubrielle Lestraud."

Scorpius couldn't help his jaw falling in surprise. "You mean the gorgeous Slytherin seventh-year?"

"Believe me, the fact that's she's gorgeous does not help anything out."

"The little vixen...I never would have thought of her as one to blackmail someone," said Scorpius.

"She _is_ a Slytherin," pointed out Albus.

"Too true. What does she want from you?"

"Her mum is in Azkaban," Albus said dully, staring across the room at the fire that was roaring in the grate.

"What's that have to do with you? Why would she come to you with this?" demanded Scorpius, his mind whirling.

"I guess it's because it's me she has the dirty information on. Besides, no adult would give into her, and I'm the only student who can perform the Patronus."

"Well, why would you give into her then? What's she holding over your head?" asked Scorpius, watching Albus closely.

Albus flinched visibly. His green eyes were very dark, almost black. "Something bad enough that I can't refuse her."

"I don't believe it," said Scorpius flatly. "Don't worry, Albus, whatever it is, I'm not going to think worse of you for it."

"You don't understand. I don't even really have a choice in the matter. It's too close to me, too personal," Albus spoke bleakly, avoiding eye contact with Scorpius.

Scorpius stared intently at Albus for a moment in silence, then decided against pressing the matter.

"I got your back, Albus. We'll work this out," said Scorpius at last.

Albus looked at him gratefully.

"So, when does Aubrielle want her darling mum broken out?"

"Two weeks from today there's a Ministry Official's meeting. All the Aurors have to go to this one –but you already know that. She wants me to take advantage of the Aurors being so unprepared."

Scorpius was sucking on his quill thoughtfully again.

Albus watched him with a sense of relief. He already felt better knowing that Scorpius was here to back him up. With his friend by his side, he felt confidant they could come up with an answer to the situation. As long as he didn't have to let Scorpius know what information he was being blackmailed with, it would all be okay.

"She wants me to break _all_ the prisoners out."

Scorpius was snapped out of his reverie. "What? That's impossible, how does she expect for you to be able to break _all_ of them out?"

Albus shrugged. "I don't think she cares how I go about it, as long as it gets done."

"I'm guessing she wants you to let them all out, so that when the Aurors hunt them all down again, her mum has a better chance of getting away, right?" asked Scorpius.

"I guess so. I don't know, she didn't give me specifics."

"But how are we supposed to keep off that many Dementors?" Scorpius asked softly, looking around for inspiration.

"We?"

Scorpius looked at Albus in surprise. "Of course, you didn't expect me to let you go in there alone, did you?"

"But I'll most likely end up in Azkaban myself, after this," said Albus with wide eyes.

"We'll figure out a way, Albus, trust me. And if it does go wrong, well, then we can keep each other company," said Scorpius, flashing a grin.

Albus blinked at Scorpius.

"I don't suppose we can go straight to the Headmistress with this?"

Albus shook his head. "We'd have no proof, and besides, Aubrielle would let the skeleton out of the closet."

Scorpius looked at Albus curiously again, wondering what it was Albus was so solid on keeping hidden.

"Well, then if you're determined to go through with this..."

"I am," said Albus abruptly.

Scorpius nodded. "Just making sure. We need some way to get through all the Dementors. You'll need to teach me the Patronus, that's for sure. I don' think that'll be enough by itself, though."

Albus looked thoughtfully down at Scorpius's nearly-blank parchment. "What was that plant you mentioned before?"

**. . . . . .**

"The Three-stemmed Pricker," said Neville Longbottom with satisfaction, plopping a large pot down on the worktable.

All the students pressed forward, eager to get a close look at this exceptional specimen.

Scorpius and Albus had made sure they were at the front of the crowd for once. It was the first time in all his years at Hogwarts that Scorpius could remember wanting to get as much information on a topic as possible.

"Professor," piped up Emily, "the textbook said that the Three-stemmed Pricker is only indigenous to South America. The story about Matilda clearly shows us that it doesn't belong in England, so how is it safe to have one here?"

"Good question, Miss Thomas," said Neville, the Herbology professor and head of Gryffindor house.

It was very humid and hot in the greenhouse, despite that it was in fact quite cool outside.

"See, Mrs. Puckeridge was unfortunately ignorant of how you need to deal with the Prickers. As long as you keep their environment as close as you can to their native habitats, you can keep them fooled into thinking they're still home."

Scorpius pulled at his robes in irritation. His sticky and sweaty skin was making him quite uncomfortable.

"Thus, the necessary heat and humidity," said Neville with a smile. There were many groans of discomfort from the students.

"Sir, why did we have to write an essay on the Prickers before we'd even taken a single class on them?" asked Ed Peele, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Because, Mister Peele, I wanted you to do some research. Your professors won't always be around to give you all the information you need."

Scorpius studied the plant on the table in front of him, closely. The Pricker really wasn't that radical looking –for all it's abnormal magical abilities. Three "stems," that really looked more like over-large leaves, stuck out at opposite angles from the dirt where it was planted. One of the stems was bright blue at the tip.

"How many of these does Hogwarts have, professor?" asked Scorpius, thinking that it would go easier for him and Albus if they had multiple. But that would only be helpful if it turned out the plants actually _did _affect Dementors.

"Only the one, Master Malfoy," said Neville proudly, patting the plant with paternal fondness.

"Makes it all the more difficult for us," muttered Albus to Scorpius under his breath.

"Might we see how it creates rain, professor?" asked a small voice.

Scorpius looked down the table in surprise. Rose was standing at the far end, watching the plant with her usual curiosity. He hadn't seen her since their walk yesterday around the lake –she had been bottled up in the library until late last night, and had gone there early in the morning as well.

When Scorpius hadn't seen her on the walk down to the greenhouses, he'd been worried, but clearly she had managed to slip in late, undetected.

"Of course, Miss Weasley, I was just getting there," said Neville, smiling back at one of his very favorite students.

"Now, you need to stroke it just right," said Neville, running his fingers along the bottom-side of one of the stems.

The students stood in hesitant silence, waiting for something to happen.

Only a few moments later there was the sound of a light rain pattering on the roof of the greenhouse. There was a brief murmuring of awe from the students.

Neville stroked the stem more vibrantly. In response, the rain pounded down even harder. A couple minutes passed, and Neville brushed his fingers along the stem even more fervently. The sound of thunder could be heard almost instantly.

Then, after a brief bit of stroking in the opposite direction, the rain came to a complete stop. There was an outbreak of applause from the students. Neville beamed in response.

"What about it's power of scent?" asked Albus, hesitantly.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter. The Three-stemmed Pricker's most formidable attribute." Neville moved his hand over to the other stem that was not marked with blue.

Almost instantly,the sweetest fragrance Scorpius had ever smelt filled the room. It captured his whole being, consumed him, controlled him. He stretched forwards eagerly, attempting to catch more of the aroma. It smelt like a spring morning, like fresh berries, like birds singing in the trees. He was so captivated that he was oblivious to everything else in the room.

Suddenly the scent was gone. It left Scorpius feeling disappointed and wishing for more. By looking at the faces of his fellow students, Scorpius could tell that they were feeling the same.

Neville smiled softly at them. "The Three-stemmed Pricker's power of aroma is not something to be used lightly."

"Professor, the text said that the Pricker affects all creatures, is that true?" asked Albus softly, still staring at the plant.

"As far as we know, yes it does. However, it has not been tested on everything, and what you consider a "creature" also needs to be taken into consideration," said Neville lightly.

Albus looked up hastily in surprise, and a moment of flitting fear. Did Neville know what he was up to? But no, the professor had already gone on to explain how one could tell which stem was which.

When the class ended, Scorpius hurried over to talk to Rose, but he was too late. She had already disappeared back up the slope to the castle.

Scorpius started up the path as well, following the other students and staring in puzzlement at the entrance to the castle.

The heavy crunch of boots on gravel announced Albus catching up to him from behind. "Well, we just better hope that the Pricker doesn't realize it's not home until we get back out of Azkaban."

"Yeah, hope so," said Scorpius glumly.

"What's the matter?" asked Albus with concern.

"Rose," sighed Scorpius.

"Oh."

"I haven't even talked to her since our walk yesterday, and now look. She gets to class late, and leaves early. I didn't even get the slightest word from her."

"Well, you know she has Advanced Divination next. She was probably in a hurry to be on time," said Albus, but only in an attempt to comfort Scorpius. Even Albus was convinced Rose was acting weird now.

Scorpius grunted, and Albus knew he wasn't convinced in the slightest.

"Well, we have some free time now. You want to try your hand at Patronus?" said Albus, trying to get Scorpius's mind off of Rose.

"Sure, why not."

**. . . . . .**

Lily twirled her wand absentmindedly in her long, red hair. She was lost in daydreams of being caught up in the adventure of a lifetime. One that involved her saving Scorpius, Albus, and Rose from a threatening situation where they were all going to die if she didn't intervene. But, of course, she would. She would be the hero, and they would all be grateful and glad. They would never treat her like a child again, they would never exclude her. She would be the center of their smiles and adoration, she was sure of it.

_Thwack!_

Lily shook her head, as she was awakened from her imaginative reverie. A small, balled up piece of paper lay in her lap, where it had fallen after hitting her in the head.

"Whoops, sorry about that Lily. Monique doesn't have the best of aim," said Hugo, fishing the parchment from her lap.

Hugo unfurled the paper, read it with a small grin, and hastily scribbled a response before crumpling it up again, and chucking it back across the room.

"Love notes?" asked Lily dully.

"Oh yes," said Hugo with a smile as he watched Monique read his latest proclamations of love. She giggled before writing something, and throwing it back. This time it was relatively accurate, and Hugo was able to catch it.

"Just don't let Professor Boot catch you," said Lily with disinterest, not really caring if Hugo got caught. Personally she thought it might be good for him.

It was her one class with Hugo –Transfiguration. The subject had never particularly interested her, hence the daydreaming.

"Mr. Weasley! What's going on there?" Terry Boot was glaring at Hugo from beneath his considerable eyebrows.

"Scratch parchment, Professor?" said Hugo innocently, holding up the note which Monique had just lobbed back at him once more.

Lily smiled. Sure enough, Hugo had managed to get caught.

Boot came stomping down the aisle between the desks. He held out his hand for the bit of parchment.

Students all twisted in their seats, hoping for some entertainment.

Hugo, not looking apprehensive in the slightest, handed the love note over to the professor.

"_Oh Hugo darling,_" Boot started to read off, "_I can't wait until tonight, I can already feel your lips on mine._" Boot broke off and raised his eyebrows at Hugo. Lily could see Monique blushing furiously across the classroom. "_You make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Your tousled hair makes me want to squeal. _Oh dear, this letter seems quite inappropriate class material. My bad," said Boot without any guilt.

"What can I say? My tousled look _is_ quite impossible to resist," said Hugo with a grin up at the teacher. Boot merely looked back down at him disgust.

Most of the class was roaring with laughter, Hugo along with them, not ashamed in the slightest. Only Lily and Monique weren't laughing. Poor Monique had her face hidden in her hands. Lily just watched her sympathetically. Yet another girl to feel the pain of being with Hugo.

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Students got up and began to leave the class in twos and threes, talking about Hugo's latest scene with laughter. Professor Boot turned back to erase his blackboard.

Hugo got up and walked over to where Monique was sobbing uncontrollably. He reached out his hand, and lightly put it on her shoulder.

Monique shot to her feet like she had been electrocuted. She brought her hand crashing across Hugo's face with a resounding _Smack!_

They stared at each other for a moment. Hugo in astonishment. Monique with red and bleary eyes.

Turning on her foot, Monique rushed out of the room.

Hugo looked over at Lily, and shrugged.

Lily shook her head in disapproval, and rushed after Monique.

**Author's Note:**

**Hope you enjoyed the latest installment. Don't forget to leave a review, and please tell friends, family, and anybody who you think will enjoy this fanfiction about it. I would be most grateful to anybody who spreads this story around!**


	5. The Boggart

Chapter 5: The Boggart

_Like a sterling pearl  
Painted over with black  
Unattractive.  
Not showing it's real worth.  
Judged  
Like a cover  
Of a book.  
Never opened  
Nor read  
Placed at the back  
Of the shelf  
Not being seen.  
Ignored by all._

Not all –  
But only those  
who care  
Are curious  
Willing  
To discover  
What good is set  
On the inside.

Lily rushed into the corridor outside the Transfiguration classroom, but Monique had already disappeared. "Shoot," said Lily with passion, as she stomped her foot.

Just then, Albus and Scorpius came around the corner, and started walking toward her. They were discussing something in low, but urgent tones.

Scorpius looked up, and caught sight of Lily standing there, watching them. "Hey, Lily."

"Have either of you seen Monique?"

"Who's Monique?" asked Albus, looking confused.

"Hugo's latest girlfriend."

"Oh, you mean the tart?"

"I like tarts," declared Scorpius, smiling.

"Oh, shuttup, don't start that again," said Albus, hitting Scorpius across the back of the head with his Herbology textbook.

"Ow," said Scorpius, ruefully rubbing the back of his head.

"No, why?" asked Albus, talking to Lily again.

"Let's just say, she's no longer Hugo's girlfriend, and Hugo didn't let her off easily," said Lily, looking Scorpius and Albus up and down. She noticed that their hair was plastered to their faces with sweat, and that their robes clung to them with dampness.

"I told you he'd be done with her by the end of this week, didn't I?" cried Albus gleefully. "And look, she didn't even last two whole days!"

"I never said you'd be wrong," snapped Scorpius.

"Monique is devastated by the way Hugo treated her, you shouldn't be so happy, Albus," said Lily angrily.

"Right, sorry," said Albus, sobering up. "Though, she should have known better than to get involved with Hugo," he pointed out.

"Talking about me?" asked Hugo curiously, emerging from the Transfiguration classroom, as he slung his bag over one shoulder.

"Yes," said Lily viciously.

Hugo blinked at her. "What's up with you?"

"Hugo, how could you do that to someone?"

"You mean Monique? I didn't do anything. I was in a sticky situation, and I made it funny. She shouldn't have made it a bigger deal than it was," he said defensively.

"She didn't make it bigger than it was! What you did was just plain cruel!" said Lily fiercely.

"Cool it, Lily," said Hugo, trying to pacify her.

"I will _not _cool it! I'm just getting started," said Lily, sending her long red hair out of her eyes with a quick flick of her head.

"What I do, or do _not _do, is none of your business," said Hugo angrily.

"It is too, when you're treating someone so terribly," said Lily, her voice rising in volume.

"Whoa, wait a second here," said Albus, stepping between the two, and holding his arms up.

Scorpius was leaning against the corridor wall. His arms were crossed across his chest, and he looked slightly amused. _Look at him standing there so pompously! He doesn't care about a soul in the world who isn't Albus or Rose, _thought Lily furiously.

"Why don't we all just relax a bit," said Albus, trying to be a peacemaker.

"Exactly what I was suggesting, Albus," said Hugo icily.

"Al, Hugo needs to wake up and realize there are more important things out there than his bodily desires! Like people's _emotions_, for one," said Lily, glaring at Hugo from around Albus.

"No, _you _need to wake up, Lily. You need to stop being a child, with a child's dreams. You need to realize that this isn't Wonderland, that people get hurt, that there's no way to protect everyone," said Hugo coldly. There were bright red spots of anger on his cheekbones. "The only thing you can do, is to make sure that you're not the one that gets hurt, to make sure that you're the one that's happy."

Lily felt color rush to her cheeks. All three sets of eyes were on her. She knew what they all saw. They all saw a kid. Someone who seemed silly and immature. She had known about Scorpius, and even Hugo, although he was the same age as her. But Albus? Albus had always treated her fairly, like an equal, but would he defend her now, when she needed his support?

She looked up at her brother. He was looking back, though she could tell he wasn't really seeing her. His eyes were distant, somewhere else, down some other lane of thought.

She blinked back the tears that were threatening to come.

"No, Hugo. That's true, people will get hurt, and sometimes there's nothing we can do about that. But that doesn't mean we go around intentionally thrusting that pain on people, just to protect ourselves. No, if anything, we should throw ourselves in the way of the pain, to shield others." Lily spoke so quietly, that the others had to lean forward to hear.

Spinning on her foot, Lily stormed away from the three boys. Her vision was blurry, and she was dangerously close to succumbing to tears, but she would not. She would _not._

"Sheesh, what's gotten under _her _skin?" asked Hugo, looking rather uncomfortable.

Albus had apparently come back to earth, and was looking after his sister in puzzlement. "I'm not sure."

"Kids these days," said Scorpius, shaking his head. "So emotionally unstable, and unpredictable. Impossible to tell what'll set them off."

"Exactly what I was thinking," said Hugo, breaking a wry smile.

"And just think, you're one of them, Hugo," said Albus, walking down the corridor without so much as a backward glance at his cousin.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard him, snotty," said Scorpius, clouting Hugo over the head with a grin as he swept after Albus.

An indignant Hugo was left staring after them.

**. . . . . .**

Lily flew through the door of the girls' lavatory. Running over to a sink, she placed one hand on each side, and leaned over it, staring down into the plain white porcelain.

Her body shook, as she did all she could to hold back the tears of frustration and anger.

The sound of soft sobs echoed off the tiled walls.

Lily's head snapped up, and she stared at herself in the mirror. Her blue eyes sparkled dangerously, on the verge of tears, but there were none that were shed.

Following the sound of the sobs, Lily went around a corner of the bathroom. There, sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall with her knees drawn up and her head in her arms, was Monique.

Lily sighed and walked over to her, her shoes making soft _clipping_ sounds on the floor.

Monique looked up in surprise, and blushed furiously. She hastily tried to wipe away the tears that were evident on her cheeks.

Lily slid to the ground, and sat beside the other girl, thinking of what to say.

They sat in silence, as Monique fought to gain control of herself. Once she had managed this to a reasonable degree, Monique spoke up. "What are you doing here?" she asked, looking away from Lily.

Lily shrugged. "It seemed like you would need a friend, after what happened in Transfiguration."

Monique let out a breath that sounded more like a hiss.

"I don't know what to say," said Lily, hesitantly.

"Well, then maybe you should not say anything at all, and just leave," said Monique harshly.

"I don't think you mean that," said Lily quietly.

"Oh?" said Monique sardonically, still looking away from her. "And why wouldn't I? Hugo is your cousin, I know that. How do I know you aren't here just to rub it in, that he doesn't want me? It stands to reason you're just here to make it worse than it already is, or just to gloat, and run back to Hugo to tell him how I bawled like a baby." Monique let out a hoarse laugh that contained no humor.

"Hugo is my cousin, he shares my blood, and I love him. But that doesn't mean I always approve of what he does, or of his lifestyle. Believe me, he knows it. He thinks I'm foolish though, a child; he doesn't listen to me, and I don't know if he ever will."

Monique looked at her in surprise. "But you two always sit next to each other in Transfiguration, I thought you were good friends."

"We used to be the very best of friends, but not so much recently. As we grew older, we've each sort of gone our own ways, if you know what I mean. Yeah, we still sit next to each other in Transfiguration, but that's the main time we're around each other these days."

"What do you think I did, to make him mad enough at me to do this?" Monique looked down at her knees. Lily could see that her eyes were red and swollen slightly. She was close enough to make out where the tears had dried on her cheeks.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Monique."

"Then why? Why did he do it? And then he just sat there and laughed like the rest of them, like he was having the best time in the world." Monique looked at Lily with wide, inquiring eyes.

Lily had never really taken much notice of Monique before, but now she could easily see how she had caught Hugo's intention. She was beautiful. Her hair was a very light blonde, so fair it was more white-silver than actual blonde. Her irises were a mix between gray and light blue –very captivating and rare eyes.

"Because he's Hugo. I don't want to hurt you, Monique, but you should know the truth," said Lily hesitantly.

"Your cousin already did that," said Monique bitterly. "Just say what you need to say."

Lily took a deep breath. "Well," she began, "Hugo doesn't generally hook up with girls because he likes their personality, or is interested in having an actual relationship with them. He just kind of, um, you know, gets together for a couple of...er...close encounters... and then sort of moves on." Lily fell silent, blushing furiously.

What happened next completely surprised, and dumbfounded, Lily. Monique laughed. Monique laughed a hearty and genuine laugh.

Lily watched Monique in bewilderment. The other girl broke off laughing, and looked at Lily with eyes that were now sparkling with merriment.

"What's so funny?" asked Lily, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"That you find it so awkward to talk about things like this," said Monique, eyes bright. "Don't you _ever_ talk about boys with other girls?"

"Er, not really."

Monique laughed again. "We're going to be great friends, I can tell."

"Mutual," said Lily, just for something to say.

Monique sighed a heavy sigh of acceptance. "Well, I guess this is just one of those things you need to get over, and move on from."

_You really are a tart, aren't you?_ thought Lily in amusement. _No wait, that's putting people in boxes. I just don't know her yet, and I'm not use to people like this. I can't make judgments of people I don't even know, and even once I do know her, is it really my place to make any sort of judgment? Isn't that what I'm so mad at Scorpius, Albus, and Hugo for doing to me?_

"Yeah, I guess so. I've never really had an experience like this one," said Lily.

"I've had more than my share," said Monique, curling a lock of her hair around her finger absentmindedly.

"Don't you ever get tired of it?" asked Lily with wide eyes.

"It does get kind of annoying after awhile. You know what? Yeah, I have. I'm finished with this type of thing. I'm not going to fall for another boy, that'll do something like this to me, ever again!"

_Watch her be with a new boy tomorrow night, _thought Lily wryly.

"Wanna eat lunch with me?" asked Monique excitedly.

Lily opened her mouth to decline, but then changed her mind. "Yeah, I would love that."

**. . . . . .**

Scorpius collapsed against a desk, sweat pouring down his face. He shuddered, and his wand slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor.

They were in an abandoned classroom, hoping to be left alone, and given time for Scorpius to practice the Patronus. So far they had been at it for half of an hour, and still Scorpius had had no luck.

Albus slammed the heavy trunk closed, and sat down on it, watching Scorpius closely. The blonde boy's face was rather pale. Sweat rolled down it and dripped off his chin, leaving small pools of salty water on the floor. He was gasping for breath, and seemed only to be on his feet because he was clasping the desk. His hands were white with the force with which he gripped it.

"You need a stronger memory!" said Albus, his voice hard.

"I'm trying! Believe me, I'm trying," said Scorpius angrily, glaring at him across the distance that separated them.

Albus ran his hand through his dark locks. He knew under ordinary circumstances he would have been more concerned about whether or not Scorpius was okay, and he would be more lenient on Scorpius's genuine attempts to master the Patronus. But as it was, his nerves were too taut and tense about everything that was going on. He was reliant on Scorpius being able to cast Patronus, and if he couldn't...well, then they would be in trouble. And Albus _did not_ want to end up locked away in Azkaban. No he did not.

Albus sighed. "Have some more chocolate, and we'll have another go at it."

"I need a break," demanded Scorpius.

"We don't have time for a break."

"I _need_ a break," Scorpius repeated forcefully.

"Stop being a prat!" yelled Albus, jumping to his feet. "We don't have any stinking _time_."

"And I don't have the _strength_!" Scorpius bellowed. His blue eyes were strained and hard –almost gray in the dimness of the classroom. The only light came from a single window at the far end of the room.

Albus felt the anger flow out of him abruptly. "You're right, I don't know what got into me. Sorry Scorpius," said Albus, walking over to his friend and helping him into one of the seats.

Scorpius's eyes were still angry. "It's not like I'm messing around Albus, I'm doing all that I can."

"I know," said Albus,"and I'm sorry. I guess I'm just tense about the whole situation."

Scorpius took a bite of chocolate, and a swig of pumpkin juice from a jug they had brought along. "You say the actual thing is worse than a Boggart, right?" he asked.

"That's what my dad said, though I've never actually faced a Dementor," said Albus, re-taking his seat on the trunk.

Scorpius shook his head, sending bits of sweat flying off of his white-blonde strands of hair. "I just don't get what I'm doing wrong."

"I think you don't have a strong enough memory," said Albus, fiddling with the one of the trunk-clasps which was between his legs.

"That's not true," said Scorpius, his brow furrowing.

"Well, what are you using?"

"That time we beat the snot out of Babcock, and his goons."

"Oh, that's not going to be nearly strong enough. The memory has to be of a moment when you were truly happy, not just satisfied with winning a fight."

Scorpius drummed his fingers on the desk, lost in thought.

Albus was glad to see that his friend had stopped shaking, and that color was returning to his face. He hadn't expected the Boggart to affect Scorpius so much, but for some odd and unknown reason it had. He also hadn't thought the Boggart would turn into a Dementor for Scorpius, seeing as Scorpius had never faced one before and didn't know what they were like. But apparently, just their reputation, and the fact that they would soon be walking into the heart of a host of them at Azkaban, had made them become Scorpius's worst fear, at least for the moment anyways. Albus had thought there might be a possibility of this happening, and he had had to take it, even though it had been a really long shot.

"I've got one," said Scorpius, standing to his feet. "Let's do this."

"Wait, are you sure? You've got your strength back already?" asked Albus, hesitant.

Scorpius nodded, and then broke a smile. "Come on Albus, I'm sure I've got it this time."

"Alright, since you're sure," said Albus, doubtful.

Albus rose to his feet, swung the trunk open, and then got hastily out of the way.

A cloaked, hooded figure swept out of the trunk and into the air. Albus could feel the happiness getting sucked from the room, could feel the coldness washing over everything. He looked to Scorpius with expectation.

Scorpius was once more pale, the skin around his eyes pinched. A look of intense concentration was the only expression on his face.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" yelled Scorpius, his wand aimed at the Boggart's chest. A silvery light started to blossom from the end of his wand.

Albus, despite the coldness and despair that was created by the Dementor's –although it was really a Boggart– presence, began to smile a little.

A look of triumph passed over Scorpius's features, but then something flitted past behind his eyes. The triumph fled from his face, and fear and despair were the only emotions left. His legs went out from under him, and he sprawled on the floor, unmoving.

"Scorpius!" cried out Albus in alarm. The Boggart started to turn it's empty face toward Albus, and suddenly it was no longer the shape of a Dementor. It was Aubrielle Lestraud. Her midnight-black hair poured down over her bare white shoulders. Her eyes were dark and mischievous, her lips that werered, _so _red, were soft and beckoning. She wore a long dress of deep blue satin that contrasted the paleness of her skin, and made her all the more breathtakingly beautiful.

Albus took a step back, the mere sight of Aubrielle –even though it wasn't _actually_ Aubrielle– was like a blow to the chest. She stretched out her hand toward him, beckoning him to come closer with an outstretched finger.

Albus shook his head furiously, taking another step back.

Aubrielle just smiled at him, and took a couple of strides toward him. Her hands that were white, _so_ white, went up to the thin straps of her dress. She started to slide them off of her shoulders, all the while smiling coyly at Albus.

_Do something! Do __**something**__! _Albus's head was screaming at him. He knew that if she got that dress off, he would be a goner. Steeling his will with all his strength. Albus swung his wand up and screamed, "_Riddikulus!_" just as the blue folds of satin had started to fall from her body.

Suddenly, Aubrielle was wearing one of those orange jumpsuits that Muggle prisoners wore. Rollerblades were on her feet as well, and on top of that, her jumpsuit was far to big for her. She seemed lost within it, and it made her lose her balance and tumble over backward.

As she hit the ground, she started rolling head-over-heels backward, gaining speed, and going faster and faster until she collided with the large trunk, shot into the air, and tumbled inside. The trunk's lid slammed closed with a dull _thud_ as soon as she vanished into its interior.

Albus stood with his chest heaving up and down, as if he had just run a long distance.

_How Scorpius will laugh after seeing that my deepest fear took on the form of a gorgeous girl stripping in front of my eyes, _thought Albus dully.

However, Albus need not have feared about the laughter of his friend. For as he turned, there was Scorpius, still lying sprawled on the floor.

Despite everything, the corner of Albus's mouth turned up in a smirk. _Oh Scorpius, how the Slytherins would love to see you now. Not so tough and mocking when you're lying spread eagle on the floor, in a dead faint, are you?_

**Author's Note:**

**Hope that you liked this last chapter enough to review, for reviews are the diet of writers. :) We live off of them, and if you've ever written a fanfiction, you know how important they are. The opening poem is **_**On the Inside**_**, by Jessica Amal Bonifas. The poem was used **_**with**_** the permission of the author.**


	6. Babcock and Baddock

**Author's Note:**

**Hope everyone enjoys this one, I threw in a bit of action. Both in the violent sense, and in the lip-locking sense. =D**

**~ThaniMag**

Chapter 6: Babcock and Baddock

Albus slapped Scorpius several times in a row. On the third slap, Scorpius's hand shot up so fast that Albus barely saw it, and grabbed his wrist.

Scorpius's eyes flew open, and locked on Albus irritably. "Don't slap me, you git," he said.

"Well, in case you didn't notice, you'd fainted, and I needed to get you conscious again," said Albus with amusement, looking down at Scorpius from half-closed lids.

"I most definitely had _not_ fainted," snapped Scorpius, letting go of Albus's wrist, and sliding into a sitting position.

"Of course not," said Albus sarcastically. "You just decided to take a nap in the middle of all the excitement."

"I was tired, and decided to grab a little shuteye," said Scorpius, looking around. Albus rolled his eyes behind Scorpius's back. "What happened? Where's the Dementor? Or Boggart, whatever you want to call it."

Albus hesitated. Scorpius turned back, and looked at him with inquiring eyes. "Nothing really, the Boggart turned on me, and so I beat it back into the trunk."

"So, the Boggart was a Dementor for you as well?" he asked.

Albus looked away from Scorpius before answering. "Yeah, a Dementor."

"No it wasn't, you filthy liar," said Scorpius. "When will you learn that you can't lie to me?"

"Will you stop doing that?" asked Albus in annoyance. "You know how irritating and disturbing it is, that you can always tell whenever I lie?"

"It's not just you, I'm pretty good at reading anyone. It just so happens that I've spent more time around you than most, and so I know how to read your face well. But anyways, so what _did_ the Boggart turn into?" asked Scorpius, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"I'm not going to tell you," said Albus, getting to his feet.

Scorpius followed his friend's example. Albus noticed he was quite stable on his feet for someone who had just fainted.

"Oh, come on, Albus. You can't do that," complained Scorpius.

"Watch me," said Albus, starting to shove the trunk that contained the Boggart toward the side of the classroom.

"Hey! Where are you going with that?" demanded Scorpius.

"I'm putting it back where I found it," panted Albus, throwing his weight into the heavy trunk once more.

"I'm not done with it."

"Oh yes you are. At least for now, anyways," said Albus, sliding the trunk up against the wall, between two cabinets.

"Am not," said Scorpius, glaring at Albus. "I'm going to master this thing, and I'm going to do it _now_."

Albus shook his head. "Maybe later today. You need a break, Scorpius, and you know it. Besides, we need to get down to lunch. Potions is pretty soon."

Scorpius opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again, and followed Albus grudgingly to the door. "Fine," he said. "But later today, I want to take another crack at it."

"That's perfectly okay by me," said Albus with a smile, swinging the door open. He held it wide, as Scorpius stomped through it.

Albus looked back at the classroom, and with a wave of his wand, rearranged all the desks into the placements he had found them in originally. His gaze swept over it one last time, before he swept out of the room after Scorpius.

The door banged shut ominously behind him.

Scorpius was waiting in the corridor for him, watching him with curious eyes.

"Let's go," said Albus, pausing by Scorpius.

"Yes, let's," he replied, turning on his heel and striding quickly down the hall. Albus followed him.

They had almost reached the entrance hall, when they ran into Babcock. As usual, he was flanked by his two followers, Zabini and Bulstrode.

Babcock's physique was much the same as Scorpius and Albus's. He was slightly taller than average, lean, and athletic.

Zabini was very tall, and thin as a rail. Bulstrode, on the other hand, was short and thickset. He was very large, and his beady eyes looked out from a lot of loose-hanging flesh.

___Bugger_, thought Albus, with feeling.

"Well, looky here. If it isn't Malfoy, the biggest disgrace that ever came from Slytherin roots. And let's not forget his little tag-along dog, Snotty Potty," drawled Babcock, standing with his legs set far apart, his arms crossed, and looking as if he thought the world should bow at this feet.

"If it isn't Bulstrode, and his overgrown flea, Babcock," drawled Scorpius in a similar matter, right back at him.

Babcock flushed angrily. _Probably more at Bulstrode being addressed as the leader, and not him, than because he was called a flea_, thought Albus. He supposed that that was exactly why Scorpius had said it, because he knew that that in itself would make Babcock angrier than almost anything else he could say.

Bulstrode looked confused, clearly not comprehending why Scorpius was addressing him rather than Babcock, the obvious leader. _He has a brain no bigger than a pea, for all that flesh of his,_ thought Albus in disgust.

"There are rumors, Potty," said Babcock coldly, focusing now on Albus.

"Rumors, Babcock?" asked Albus quietly.

"Yes, rumors. I have heard of how you sneak around the castle, meeting Lestraud in dark corners. Of the forbidden love you share. A Slytherin with a Gryffindor. It's disgusting, disgusting I tell you. I can't believe Lestraud would sink so low." Babcock spat on the floor at Albus's feet.

Albus's eyes went wide with surprise. _How did he find out? But that's not important, what matters is that he knows. But boy, is he wrong. How very, very wrong he is._

Albus realized that Scorpius was looking at him. Scorpius's face was well masked, but Albus could see the surprise that was mixed with some amusement behind his eyes.

Albus opened his mouth to reply to Babcock, but Scorpius was faster. "Yeah, it is rather sad that Albus lowered himself to accepting to sleep with a Slytherin, even if she's the best looking out of the lot of you." Albus stared at Scorpius with mixed horror and amazement. "But what's even sadder, is that you're such a lowlife you can't get _any_ piece of slime –that we all love and know as Slytherins– to sleep with you. At least Albus _has_ slept with someone. I admit, I wouldn't have accepted Lestraud if she came begging to _me_ on her knees to have some," sneered Scorpius, the corner of his mouth turning up. "But I guess, Albus is just more akin to pity than I am."

Babcock's brown eyes were smoldering beneath his dirty-blonde locks. He dived forward at Scorpius, but Zabini grabbed him by the upper arms, pulling him back. Babcock fought against his restrainer, but to no avail. Albus himself knew that Zabini had iron strength, even though he didn't look it, being so skinny and all.

"You act so big and bad, don't you, Malfoy?" growled Babcock. "I wouldn't act so hot if I were you."

"But you're not me, are you, Babcock?" asked Scorpius, quirking an eyebrow. "You could never pull off the style that it takes to be me."

"I wouldn't act like I could have any girl in the school, when my very own was getting shagged right behind my back."

Scorpius looked like somebody had just cheap-shot him in the crotch. "What did you say?" he asked quietly.

Babcock laughed. "Don't tell me you're seriously that stupid, Malfoy. You're of Slytherin stock, even if you've sunk to being a disgraceful Gryffindor. Where has your precious Weasley been recently? She ever seem anxious to spend as little time in your company as possible? Do her kisses ever seem not quite as real as they use to?"

Scorpius's face had gone white, his eyes were glittering Sapphires, dangerous and glowing. "You'll pay for that lie, Babcock. I will _not _have anyone insulting Rose like that."

"Oh? Can you really convince yourself that was a lie, Malfoy?" asked Babcock quietly.

Scorpius moved so fast, that no one had time to react. He shot forward, one fist caught Babcock in the stomach, making him gasp in surprise and pain. The other fist connected with the center of Zabini's face, sending him stumbling back, releasing Babcock.

Scorpius launched himself onto Babcock, taking him to floor.

Bulstrode broke into action, rushing over, he wrapped his gorilla arms around Scorpius's midsection, and started to drag him off his leader.

Albus sighed with resolution, and rushed forward to help Scorpius. But Zabini had recovered himself, and with blood pouring from his nose, hit Albus in the chest. Albus reeled back, recovered his balance, took a step forward, placed one hand on Zabini's shoulder, and socked him hard in the center of his face, just like Scorpius had.

Zabini let out a yell of pain, as the sound of shattering bone filled the corridor. Zabini grabbed his nose, clearly not ready for more at the moment.

Scorpius had somehow managed to knock Bulstrode flat on the floor, and was now sitting astride him, pummeling him into the floor. Babcock was just rising to his feet, and was about to take advantage of Scorpius's distraction.

Albus rushed past Zabini, and flung himself _over_ Scorpius. He crashed into Babcock. The two of them hit the floor, and skidded along it, locked in some sort of wrestling match.

Albus managed to get his feet up, and kicked Babcock in the stomach. Babcock flew off of him and slammed into the corridor wall. Albus got up, and was just about to launch himself onto Babcock, when a very pretty, and unexpected voice interrupted him.

"Now, now, boys," said the voice. "Let's have no more of this."

The boys in question all froze and looked up.

Elsa Baddock was standing with her fists on her hips, her red-gold hair flung over her shoulder, a no-nonsense expression written all over her face.

"Screw off, Baddock," said Bulstrode with vehemence. He had managed to work his way around, so now _he _was sitting astride Scorpius.

"Oh, but you see, Bulstrode, I can't go letting you mess up Malfoy's pretty face any more than you already have."

"And how are you going to stop me?" asked Bulstrode, punching Scorpius in the face as if to prove a point. Scorpius hissed, and started to struggle beneath him.

Elsa moved faster than Albus had thought she could. Her wand was out in a jiffy, and pointing at Bulstrode. "Hit him again, Bulstrode, and I'll hex you until your ugly hide isn't recognizable even by your dear old mummy."

Bulstrode hissed angrily, and refrained from hitting Scorpius again, but he didn't offer to move.

Zabini moved his cupped hands from around his bloody nose, and went for his wand. Elsa saw his movement, however. "_Expelliarmus_!" Zabini's wand, which had just started to appear from within his robes, went shooting off down the hall.

Babcock had pulled himself to his feet, and was supporting himself with the wall. His lower lip was starting to swell, and he looked like he would have a nice black-eye by the end of the day. "More Slytherin stock gone sour," he said, shaking his head ruefully. "Really, Baddock, you would look fine in green and silver."

"Thank you for the compliment, Babcock, but I like my blue and bronze. Now get going," said Elsa, gesturing with her wand for the Slytherins to start heading down the corridor.

Zabini went without any argument, sweeping up his wand as he strode off down the hall.

Bulstrode glowered at her from his seat on Scorpius.

"Go!" she commanded. "Or believe me, I'll make good on my threat, Bulstrode."

Eyes bulging in anger, Bulstrode followed Zabini.

Scorpius got slowly to his feet, moping the blood from his face with his robes as he did so.

Babcock wiped blood from his chin with the back of his hand. "It was a pleasure, Malfoy. Potter. I'll be seeing you around, Baddock." He went after his two followers, who were waiting for him down the hall. He left with arrogant slowness.

Elsa put her wand back in her robes. "You okay, Potter?" she demanded, although she had eyes only for Scorpius.

"Yes," said Albus, brushing down his robes. For it was true, Albus was fairly confident he had managed to come out of the fight feeling the best. He would have a few bruises, sure, but that was all. Albus couldn't say the same for Scorpius.

Bulstrode had turned Scorpius's face into a mash-potato salad, with plenty of red sauce on top.

"Malfoy, you're poor face isn't up to it's usual glory today, it would seem," said Elsa, a small smile blooming from her lips.

Scorpius made a grunting noise.

"Let's get you to the Infirmary, Scorpius," said Albus, coming to his friend. He grabbed Scorpius's forearm, and started to drag him along.

"Whoa, wait a second," said Elsa, running to put herself in front of them. She spread out her legs, and threw out her arms to either side.

"Get out of the way," hissed Albus. "Can't you see he needs the Infirmary?"

"Madam Pomfrey will never heal him, you know that. She hates it when people fight; she'll have none of it." Her eyes were fierce.

"All the same, we have to try. There's nothing else to be done about it." Albus stuck his face right up to her hers. They were mere inches from each other. They stared at each other, both determined.

Albus found that he was the first to look away.

"She's right, Albus, Madam Pomfrey will slam the door in our faces as soon as look at us," said Scorpius.

"Well, then what should we do, smart-cakes?" demanded Albus.

"I'll heal him," said Elsa, matter-of-factly.

"You?" Albus quirked an eyebrow.

"Yes, me, you prat. I'm training to be a Mediwizard," snapped Elsa.

"It's your call. Your looks are the ones at stake," said Albus, looking at Scorpius.

Scorpius shrugged. "As long as you're sure you can give me my beautiful face back, as it was," he said to Elsa.

Elsa smiled. "Of course, babe."

Elsa drew her wand again, and stepped closer to Scorpius. Albus quickly let go of his friend's forearm, and got out of the way.

Elsa placed a creamy-white hand on Scorpius's shoulder. In her other hand she had her wand. She ran the tip of it slowly all over Scorpius's face, murmuring spells of healing. Scorpius bent his head to let her reach it easier, but even so, she had to stand on tip-toe.

Albus couldn't help but wonder at Elsa's motives in offering to help Scorpius. Albus thought they were made quite evident by how close she was standing to Scorpius, and by the way she angled her body toward his. It also seemed to him that Madam Pomfrey _never _took this long to heal up some wounds; he couldn't help but wonder if she was doing it on purpose. Then again, she wasn't Madam Pomfrey, so there could be no telling for sure.

Scorpius took the healing with relatively good grace, for being him, anyways. He stood with his face tilted down toward Elsa. He was motionless, no tenseness in his body, but he hardly looked completely at ease to Albus.

After what seemed like ages, but was probably a couple of minutes, Elsa finally finished. She lowered herself back onto the soles of her feet.

Scorpius's face was whole once more. Traces of dried blood were in his hair, and on his face, but it was still a big improvement from the mash-potato salad.

"Thank you," said Scorpius, gracefully.

"Your welcome," replied Elsa.

Scorpius spun on his foot and started to walk away, Albus following after him.

"Wait a minute, I'm not done with you."

Scorpius turned back around slowly, as if he had been expecting this, but wasn't altogether eager to hear it.

"Yes?"

"I require payment for my help," she said, looking sly.

"I thought as much. Babcock was right, you are of Slytherin roots."

"Oh, yes," said Elsa, and flashed a _very_ mischievous smile, that Albus did not like the look of at _all_.

"Yes...? What do you want?" asked Scorpius impatiently.

"Kiss me."

"_What_?" gasped Albus.

"Be quiet, Potter. You can leave if you want to. Actually, I would _prefer_ it."

"Are you _crazy_? He has a _girlfriend_." Albus stared at her like she was out of her mind.

"I'm not asking for a declaration of undying love, silly boy. I just want a kiss in an abandoned corridor, that's all. No one need ever know." She said it as if everyone went around kissing random people, in empty halls, all the time.

"_Just _a kiss? What worl–"

"Don't, Albus," said Scorpius, quietly.

Albus gaped at his friend.

"Like she said, you can leave if you don't want to see this, Albus." Although Scorpius was talking to Albus, his eyes were locked on Elsa's, and hers on his.

Albus started to make a choking noise in his throat, but stifled it immediately.

Albus couldn't really blame Scorpius, what guy wouldn't turn down such an opportunity? A healed up face, and a kiss to boot. And Elsa was beautiful, that was for sure. She had large, doe-eyes, that were a beautiful green color. Not like Albus's blazing emeralds, but their own, softer, light green. Throw in the breathtaking red-gold hair, and you had Elsa. A girl who was pretty much impossible to turn down.

Scorpius put one hand on each of Elsa's shoulders, and drew her to him in a second. The next instant his mouth was on hers.

It wasn't like the kisses that Albus had seen Scorpius and Rose share. Those tended to be soft and gentle. This was anything but gentle. It was furious and fierce, almost as if they were attempting to force the other into submission.

It was over in a moment.

Scorpius was stepping back, pushing Elsa gently away. His eyes were wide in amazement, and what looked like horror to Albus, but he couldn't be sure.

Elsa was smiling widely.

"Satisfied, Baddock?" asked Scorpius softly.

"It was everything I was expecting, and more," she replied.

"Thank you, again, for this," said Scorpius, touching his face lightly with the tips of his fingers.

"And thank _you_, for _this_," said Elsa, mimicking Scorpius's gesture, only brushing her lips with the end of her index finger, not her face.

Scorpius turned, and froze in the spot he stood.

"Oh, Merlin, no," he said, his eyes wide.

Albus spun on his foot to see what he was looking at.

Down the corridor, standing at the intersection of said hall with another, was Elizabeth Flint. A Slytherin girl with a particularly pointy chin.

She was grinning like mad.

**Author's Note:**

**What will happen next? The plot begins to move. Don't forget to click that review link, and to type in those few hasty words that would mean so much.**


	7. Potions Class

Chapter 7: Potions Class

Scorpius blasted down the corridor.

Flint's grin widened, then she turned and whipped around the corner.

"Flint, no!" yelled Scorpius, skidding around the corner.

"Sorry, Malfoy, but this is too good to keep a secret," called Flint over her shoulder.

Scorpius pumped his arms like mad, hoping to gain every possible little boost of speed.

Flint took the stairs that lead to the entrance hall two at a time. Scorpius took them _all_ on the first go.

He hit the top of the staircase, and launched himself forward. He landed at the bottom, just a couple of feet behind Flint, but he stumbled and fell, sliding across the smooth marble on his chest.

As Scorpius scrambled to his feet, Flint turned at the door to the Great Hall. She flashed another maddening grin, and then vanished inside.

Albus came sprinting into the entrance hall to find Scorpius standing and staring at the entrance to the Great Hall. "Where's – Flint?" he gasped.

Scorpius shook his head. "Didn't catch her. Drat it. _Drat_ _it_," he said vehemently. He turned to Albus. "Well, if what Babcock said about Rose shagging someone behind my back wasn't true, it'll be very true all too soon."

"Will you stop talking as if Rose goes around sleeping with people?" demanded Albus in annoyance. "And that goes for me too, actually. I'd prefer if my reputation doesn't get too dreadfully shredded over something that's not true."

"How do you know that Rose hasn't slept with me?" leered Scorpius.

"Because, however morally low you'd sink, Scorpius, Rose wouldn't," said Albus with distaste.

Scorpius laughed. "That hurts, Albus. That you have absolutely no confidence in my morality."

Albus shrugged. "What can I say? Anyways, what are you going to do about Flint?"

"I'm going to go find Rose, and tell her what happened myself. That way she'll hear it from me first, and Flint won't have the chance to blow it out of proportions."

"Good idea." Albus nodded.

"The only question is, where would she be right now?"

"She probably just got out of Advanced Divination, and would have come running down to grab some lunch before Potions."

"True," was all Scorpius said before sweeping into the Great Hall, Albus in his wake.

While Scorpius let his gaze wander down the Gryffindor table, looking for Rose, Albus was watching for Flint. He caught sight of her at the Slytherin table, surrounded by a pack of housemates, gesturing wildly with her arms.

One of the students listening to Flint's story caught sight of Albus and Scorpius, and pointed. The rest of the small circle of Slytherins turned, and started sneering and laughing. Albus turned hastily away.

"She's not here," stated Scorpius.

"Let's grab a seat, she'll turn up in a minute, I'm sure," said Albus, grabbing Scorpius by the shoulder and starting to drag him toward the Gryffindor table.

"Get your hand off of me," hissed Scorpius, knocking Albus's arm away.

"Sorry," muttered Albus under his breath.

They took seats across from each other, but neither ate. Albus pushed the food around on his plate with his fork. Scorpius sat silent and still.

"How do you think Babcock found out about Lestraud?" asked Albus quietly.

Scorpius started, as if he had completely forgotten about both Lestraud and what Babcock had said about her and Albus. "I don't know."

"What do you think I should do about it?"

"Nothing," said Scorpius flatly.

"Nothing? I can't do nothing."

"Well, then you tell me what you're going to do. Tell me what you _can _do. If you ask me, there _is _nothing. Besides, it doesn't matter," said Scorpius sharply.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" Albus demanded. "How selfish are you? I'm not treating your issue like it isn't important."

"Albus, don't be ridiculous. Look, the difference is this. For one thing, in my issue we're talking about the possibility of Rose not talking to me again, and worse, the possibility of her getting seriously hurt. In yours, the only thing that can get hurt is your reputation."

"If you hadn't as good as confirmed it for Babcock–"

Scorpius made a noise in his throat. "Look Albus, all things concerned, this is not what you should be worrying about right now. If I were you I'd be more concerned with Azkaban than with whether or not the students of Hogwarts think you're a virgin."

"I guess you're right," said Albus.

"Of course I'm right," said Scorpius impatiently.

They sat in silence for a couple of moments, then suddenly, Scorpius lunged to his feet, and banged his fist down on the table.

"Where is she?" he hissed quietly. "She's probably in that infernal library, and I'm going to go get her. Right now." He turned to leave, but Albus sprang to his feet, reached across the table, and grabbed his arm, stopping him.

Scorpius looked at him in surprise, as if he had forgotten all about him. "What are you doing?" he asked, as if Albus had just done the most preposterous thing in the world.

"What are _you_ doing?" demanded Albus.

"Getting Rose of course, what else?"

"Why would you go do that, when we have Potions with her in five minutes? You'd probably get to the library a few minutes after she _left_."

Scorpius blinked. "You're right."

Albus couldn't help but smile wearily. "See, you aren't the only one."

**. . . . . .**

Scorpius sat still and unmoving in the seat next to Albus. His eyes roved right and left, and occasionally up to the door of the Potions' classroom whenever a student entered.

That was the amazing thing about Scorpius, thought Albus. He contained himself so well.

Had there positions been reversed, Albus knew that he would either be pacing around in agitation, or fiddling with something. Or maybe staring fixedly at the door, waiting for Rose. Except, of course, that their positions could _never _be reversed. Albus would never be with Rose, nor wanted to be, because they were cousins. Albus would never kiss another girl than the one he was with, no matter how pretty she had fixed his face up –or, so he thought.

Potions, unfortunately, was their class with the Slytherins, and Albus didn't think it was going to be a pretty period. Babcock, Bulstrode, and Zabini were seated right behind them already, all with stupid, leering grins on their faces. Clearly, Flint had already told them about Scorpius snogging Baddock.

Babcock leaned his face forward, so that he was close enough for Scorpius and Albus to hear his whisper. "So, Malfoy, I see you realized the truth of what I said, and have already gotten over Weasley and moved on to the next girl."

"That's what it would seem," said Scorpius, his voice acid. "What was that you had said, Babcock? Something about me not being able to have any girl in the school?"

Babcock flushed angrily, and pulled back into his seat.

The class was about to start, and there was still no sign of Rose. Scorpius's shoulders were tense beside Albus, and Albus secretly suspected that he was going to burst out of the classroom and go in search of her any moment now.

Then there she was, her smiling face framed in the doorway. Albus could _feel_ Scorpius relaxing next to him.

She entered the classroom, and was followed closely by a tall, unsmiling boy with dark eyes and carefully combed-over brown hair.

Scorpius tensed next to Albus once more. "Who is that?" hissed Scorpius.

"It's Driscoll, of course. Where have you been our whole lives?"

"Why would I notice him?" demanded Scorpius.

"Maybe because anyone with eyes would have, after having at least one class with him a week for six years," said Albus.

"Maybe he was right..."

"Who was right, about what?" asked Albus, confused.

"Babcock, who else?" snapped Scorpius.

"About...?" asked Albus again, but then realization dawned upon him. "You think Rose has been sleeping with Driscoll? How big of an idiot are you?"

"It's possible," said Scorpius flatly.

"Yeah, and I can give birth to babies," said Albus sarcastically.

"Can you?" asked Scorpius with wide eyes. "You're not a hermaphrodite, are you? Because if you are, and you never told me..."

"Oh, shuttup, don't be a prat, there are more important things at hand."

"Then you being an hermaphrodite?" asked Scorpius, his eyes narrowing.

"I'm not a stinking hermaphrodite, will you please shut up about that now?"

"I'm trying to get our minds off of this whole confusing situation."

"On this situation is _exactly _where our minds need to be right now."

"What the..." Scorpius was staring over Albus's head with an expression of amazement mixed with horror.

Albus swiveled in his seat, and his jaw dropped open.

Rose was sitting with Driscoll, and she was resolutely looking to the front of the class, not paying any attention to Scorpius or Albus.

"I don't believe it," whispered Albus. "She _always _sits with us."

"Damn," said Scorpius with feeling. "Babcock was right." He paused. "My life is no longer worth living."

Albus looked at Scorpius in surprise. Scorpius only swore when he was either really agitated, or really angry. "You're life is no longer worth living, just because Rose is sitting by someone else for a change?"

"This proves what Babcock said," hissed Scorpius angrily. "And even if it didn't mean she was sleeping with him, the mere fact that Babcock was right about something makes me want to throw myself off a cliff."

"Will you stay sane for a few moments here?" demanded Albus. "I can't have you going mental on me quite yet."

"It's completely logical! You know that."

"It is _not_," snapped Albus. "What world did you grow up in, where when a girl sits next to a boy it means she's sleeping with him? She's sat next to me half of her life! And on a side note –how many times do I have to tell you to stop acting like Rose is a slut? She hasn't slept with anyone, and I'll be danged if she _ever _sleeps with someone outside of marriage."

Scorpius was glaring at Driscoll with smoldering eyes. Albus noted that Driscoll was pointedly ignoring it. "I saw that bastard with her in the library," ground out Scorpius, from between clenched teeth.

"What?" Albus blinked.

"I said I saw that bas–"

"Welcome, students." Padma Patil spun to face the class. Her long, dark hair fell in a single plait all the way to her waist. "Today we will be creating the first stages of Polyjuice Potions, so grab a partner, and grab a worktable." She smiled brightly down at them all.

Albus quickly took the nearest worktable, lowering his cauldron slowly onto it. Scorpius was not so gentle, he picked his cauldron up and slammed it down on the table so hard that Albus thought it was in danger of breaking.

"Please be easier on both the cauldron, _and_ the worktable, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Patil with disapproval.

"Yes, Professor," muttered Scorpius, busy glaring over at where Driscoll and Rose had paired up.

"All the ingredients are up here, for when you need them," said Professor Patil, with a wave at a table at the head of the room. Albus recognized lacewing flies, and some shredded Boomslang skin. "The instructions are on page fifty-five. I will be available if you need aid."

Albus quickly went up to the head table, and grabbed the first few ingredients. He had barely returned when Scorpius started talking. "I saw that bastard Driscoll with her in the library when I went to go get her for our walk on Sunday."

"That doesn't mean anything, Scorpius, they could just be study partners." Though Albus was starting to feel the first strands of doubt himself.

"You know that's highly unlikely. Look how much time she's been spending cooped up in there. If he's been with her all those times, then study partner my ass," he snapped. He laughed a dry laugh without any humor. "So much for having to worry about Flint, she dropped me before I even had the _chance_ to cheat on her with Baddock."

"Well, _I_ still have to worry about both Babcock, _and_ Lestraud. Don't get so lost in your own troubles that you forget I need your help, too."

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry," said Scorpius impatiently, waving it away.

Albus was busy mixing ingredients, but Scorpius was just leaning his elbow on the rim of his cauldron, staring at Rose and Driscoll as they laughed and talked while they prepared their potion.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you intend on actually _doing _any of the work? Or are you prepared to make Mr. Potter do it all?" asked Professor Patil, glowering at him.

"Moi, mademoiselle?" asked Scorpius, lazily. Albus was amazed at his ability to act, even under the cloud of recent events.

"Yes, you, do you see any other Mr. Malfoy about?"

"But us Malfoys do not do the work of commoners, we leave that to people of lowly lineage, such as Potter here, Professor," said Scorpius, patting Albus affectionately on the shoulder.

"Ah, yes, lowly lineage," said Professor Patil, pursing her lips. "Such as Mr. Potter, son of the savior of the wizarding world, yes, I do say, that is quite low lineage."

"I'm glad we agree, Professor," said Scorpius, smiling innocently at her.

"Get to work, Mr. Malfoy," said Professor Patil, as she turned away. Albus could have sworn she was working hard to stifle a smile.

The rest of the Potions class blew by in a haze.

"I'm getting things straight, _right_ now," said Scorpius, as soon as the bell rang.

Rose was piling things into her bag, when Scorpius rushed over to her.

"Rose, tell me what's going on," he said softly.

"What do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"I sure in hell _hope_ you know what I mean," he said angrily, his voice rising. People all around stopped in the process of leaving, turning to stare.

"No, honestly, I don't–"

"_What _is going on between you and Driscoll?" asked Scorpius. Driscoll stopped in the doorway of the classroom, in the process of exiting. He turned slowly, watching Scorpius and Rose with solemn eyes.

"I just thought it would be nice to sit with him for a class, it's really no big deal, Scorpius," said Rose, watching him with wide eyes, clutching a textbook tightly to her chest.

"Don't play with me," he hissed. "I saw him there with you in the library, that one day. I know you've been spending all your time in there lately. Has it always been with him?"

"You know I love the libr–"

"Have you been getting friendly with him, Rose?" Scorpius's voice was hard, and very quiet. Even so, everyone could hear him in the still room. Albus fancied that he would have heard a pin drop.

Rose flinched as if she had been slapped.

"What's the point of this?" Emily Thomas demanded. "Scorpius, can't you talk about this somewhere else, where you don't have to embarrass Rose?"

"I need an answer, now. The rest of you can bugger off if you want, I'm not making you stay." Scorpius spoke to Emily, but his eyes never moved from Rose's face. No one left. "Well, Rose?"

Rose's lip started to tremble, and the book shook in her hands. "The feelings came on so fast, they took me completely by surprise. I didn't mean too, I swear it! One day I loved you, and you were the only one, and the next...things just started to change. I didn't mean for you to find out like this, I meant to tell you myself, I did, really! I never wanted you to get hurt."

Scorpius closed his eyes, slowly. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He must be in a dream, a terrible nightmare. There was no way, no way, that this could be happening.

Scorpius felt a small body crash against his, and suddenly there were arms thrown about his waist. He opened his eyes, and stared down at the top of Rose's bushy head. She was, unbelievably, _crying_. Great, wracking sobs that filled the whole room.

"I'm – sorry," she gasped.

Scorpius slowly unclasped Rose's hands from about him, she looked up at him in surprise. His voice was gentle when he spoke, gentle as it was only able to be when he was speaking to Rose. "Pull yourself together, Rose." He cupped her face gently in his long, slender hands. "Some things are beyond our control, like our hearts." He carefully wiped away a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"Thank you, Malfoy, but now I think Rose and I'll be going." Driscoll had appeared behind Rose, and had laid his hand on her shoulder. He was gently pulling her away from Scorpius.

Scorpius visibly tensed. "I think Rose can decide when and where she'll go," he said coldly.

Driscoll looked innocently surprised. "But of course. I just naturally assumed, that she would want to be wherever I was, seeing as now we'll be openly together."

A low growling sound came from Scorpius's throat.

Driscoll's brow furrowed. "Are you alright?" he asked in polite concern.

"Of course," said Scorpius. "Run along now, you two lovebirds." He turned so that he was facing away from them.

"Scorpius –" began Rose.

"Go!" he commanded, not turning around again.

"I think that would be best– darling." It sounded to Albus like Driscoll had slipped in the last word as a taunt, as he started to pull Rose to the door.

Scorpius stood motionless, not watching them go.

Just before Driscoll swung out through the door, Albus caught an expression that whipped across his face. It was only for a fleeting moment, before the mask of innocence was back.

It was an expression of loathing, mixed with a dark amusement.

**Author's Note:**

**How will Scorpius take this latest train of events? Will he keep his promise and help out Albus, or will he be to absorbed in his own problems? Leave a review. ;)**


	8. Tapioca Pudding

**Author's Note:**

**If you like this story, please, by all means, spread it around. I want as many people as possible to benefit from, and enjoy my work. =]**

**Thank yous go to "Willy" and "TheUltimateReader" for leaving reviews that completely made my day. =D**

Chapter 8: Tapioca Pudding

"Want to take another crack at the Patronus? After class I mean, unless you want to skip. Then I will, of course," said Albus anxiously, hoping to distract Scorpius.

"No," answered Scorpius hollowly.

The two boys were leaning against the wall outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. They had just gotten out of Potions a few minutes ago, and they had a couple to spare before Defense Against the Dark Arts started.

"You going to be okay?" asked Albus. Watching Scorpius with worry-filled eyes.

Scorpius had been staring off down the corridor, observing the students that streamed to and fro, but now he turned his gaze to Albus. His blue eyes were dim and blank, this was very worrisome to Albus.

"Of course I will be. People don't have the option to not be. When something happens, you have to move on, and live with it." Albus opened his mouth to interrupt, but Scorpius kept going. "When the world kicks you down, you get up, and you keep going."

The fact that Scorpius was getting all philosophical was another worrying thing to Albus, but he didn't say so.

"You want to ditch class?" asked Albus.

"Yes," said Scorpius.

Albus hoisted himself off the wall. "Okay, where do you want to go?"

"No, Albus," said Scorpius quietly.

Albus blinked. "What?"

Scorpius had been looking at the floor, but now he brought his eyes up to meet Albus's. "I need to be alone for awhile."

Albus hesitated. He wasn't too sure about letting Scorpius out of his sight, in the boy's current condition.

"I know what you're thinking, Albus. But if you insist on coming with me, I'll hex you and stuff your limp body into a broom cupboard full of tapioca pudding."

Although this seemed highly unlikely to Albus, you could never be sure with Scorpius. He tended to take ridiculous threats quite seriously– his own, anyway.

"Tapioca pudding?" asked Albus.

"Yes, everybody loves a good tapioca pudding, and I wouldn't want your stay in the cupboard to be too terrible," said Scorpius, with lack of his general amusement.

The corridors were starting to empty, the start of class was near.

"What if I don't like tapioca?" asked Albus.

"Don't be ridiculous, everybody loves tapioca," stated Scorpius.

"And you have all this pudding on you?" Albus was incredulous.

"I had the house elves whip me up a batch just the other day, it's in the kitchen."

"You're kidding me..." said Albus under his breath, trailing off.

"I love tapioca. Well, you better get into class, unless you want to know what tapioca pudding looks like once you're swimming in it."

Albus shook his head, and stepped up to the door. He looked at the forlorn figure of Scorpius, still leaned up against the corridor wall, all by himself, and tried to push his misgivings down. "Scorpius," he said.

"Yeah?" said the blonde boy from beneath bangs that were starting to encroach on his eyes.

"Promise me."

"Promise you what?"

"That you'll take care of yourself, that you won't do anything stupid."

Scorpius grinned. It was one of his few, rare, _real_ grins. "You know me, Albus."

Albus sighed. "Exactly." Without a backward glance, he ducked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Scorpius's gut clenched as he watched the shaggy black head of his friend disappear into the classroom. A part of him really wanted to be alone right now, the other part hated to watch Albus go.

Sighing, Scorpius pulled himself off the wall, and started to walk down the hall. He took long strides that pulled him along at a good pace. He felt like stomping, but refrained from doing so. His personal opinion was that people who stomped lacked class. And class was, of course, _very _important. Well, if your name ended in Malfoy, anyways.

He trailed his long, slender fingers along the smooth wall of corridor. The stone was cool beneath his touch, and it felt _good_.

Getting a sudden and very intense urge to make something feel pain, Scorpius kicked the wall with all his might. It turned out, the only thing that ended up feeling any amount of pain was the big toe of his left foot.

Scorpius swore colorfully, and leapt around on one leg, clutching at his hurt toe.

Once the pain had receded somewhat, he put his foot back on the floor, and looked around ruefully. "No one to appreciate my wide vocabulary," he said aloud to the emptiness. He frowned. _Talking aloud to oneself is _never_ a good sign, Malfoy, _he admonished himself. "Hell, talking about oneself in the third person is even worse, though." He continued on his way.

He walked down the staircase into the entrance hall slowly. The marble floor shined as if it had just been polished, just as it always did. He strode over to the large, oak double doors, and pushed them outward, throwing his strength into the task.

They swung open with the creak of old wood, exposing the grounds.

Standing there, framed by the large doors, Scorpius felt like he could have been the king of the world. He stood at the peek of humanity, and the universe would bow at his feet.

The grounds unfolded before him, spreading in all directions. The day was overcast, the sun hidden beneath a sea of clouds. That didn't stop it from being beautiful, for this gave the world it's own sort of charm. The lake was the essence of calm, it's waters a murky green-blue. The trees of the Forbidden Forest swayed slowly, a soothing sight to Scorpius's troubled heart and mind.

The air was fresh and crisp. It smelled of flowers and wind. It was chilly against Scorpius's skin, but he didn't show it by even the slightest of shivers. In fact, he barely felt it.

He took a step out of the entrance hall, his feet crushing the green blades of grass beneath them. The strong breeze whipped his hair into his eyes, and he pushed it away impatiently.

A sudden overwhelming desire to get away, to just go as far as possible, overcame him. He wanted to run, run until he could no longer.

And so he did. He ran, without even one backward glance.

**. . . . . .**

Albus paced the common room in agitation. It was starting to get late, darkness had fallen, and still there had been no sign of Scorpius. He hadn't seen his friend since right before Defense Against the Dark Arts, and there was no need to say he was worried.

The common room was moderately empty, and a fire blazed high in the grate. A couple of sixth-years were studying around the table in front of the fire. Albus recognized Hugo's tart, Monique, reading a book in one of the overstuffed armchairs. Her silver hair was bright contrast to the scarlet material of the seat in which she sat. Hugo was there too, but he was sitting on the floor beneath one of the windows across the room from Monique, his back pressed up against the wall. He seemed to be taking great interest in the lace curtains.

Making a decision to go look for Scorpius, Albus rushed up to his dormitory. He quickly grabbed one of his cloaks, and another one for Scorpius, before going hurrying back down to the common room.

He crossed the room to the portrait hole.

"Wait, Albus, where are you going?" It was Hugo, now on his feet, and looking at Albus curiously.

"I'm going to find Scorpius," said Albus, impatiently.

"Where is he?" asked Hugo.

"If I knew that, I wouldn't have to go looking for him," said Albus irritably, his agitation and worry showing through his bad mood.

"Can I come along?"

Albus hesitated, but then decided that he could use the extra help. "Okay, sure." Hugo looked relieved.

"Let me grab my cloak." Hugo disappeared up the staircase, and then returned moments later, cloak in hand. "I'll go first," he said.

"Sure, whatever," said Albus.

Hugo swung the portrait hole open, and jumped out– right into a disgruntled Lily who had been about to knock.

"Watch it!" she snapped, pushing Hugo off of her and into the wall.

"Whoa, don't get too excited, Lily, we're cousins after all," he said, a facetious grin on his face.

"You're disgusting."

"Hey, no need for unnecessary insults," said Hugo in an injured tone. Lily rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Lily?" asked Albus, swinging down out of the portrait hole.

"I came to get Monique, we were going to hang out."

Hugo's jaw dropped open. "Monique? You two hang out now? When did you guys become friends? When did you even _meet_?"

"Right after you knocked off a chip of her heart," snapped Lily.

"Easy guys, I don't need a fight on my hands, with everything else that's going on," said Albus, pushing them away from each other.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lily curiously.

"Er, nothing," said Albus hastily.

"Do you mind getting Monique for me?"

"Yeah, she's right here, just a moment." Albus stuck his head back through the portrait hole. "Monique!" he called. "Someone's here to see you."

A moment later, Monique came sliding out of the portrait hole. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of Hugo, but there was no other visible reaction from her. "Hallo, Lily," she said.

Lily smiled. "Hey, Monique."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence.

"Well, we should probably get going, Albus," said Hugo, clearly not at ease.

"Yeah, definitely, let's go." He turned and started away.

"Where you guys going?" asked Lily.

"Scorpius has decided to mysteriously disappear, and he needs finding," said Hugo, turning and walking backward so that he could face Lily as he said this.

"Does this have anything to do with these ridiculous rumors I've been hearing?" asked Lily.

"What rumors?" asked Hugo in confusion.

"Hugo, come on, we need to hurry," said Albus harshly.

Hugo looked at Albus in surprise. He shrugged and turned so that he was walking forward again.

"Albus? Does it?" Lily called down the corridor at the retreating figures of her brother and cousin.

Albus didn't reply.

"So, where do you think he'll be?" asked Hugo, strolling along at ease, his hands clasped behind his head. Albus half expected him to start whistling any second.

"I don't know," said Albus, biting his lip in worry.

"Well, you must have _some_ idea," urged Hugo.

Albus sighed. "I think he may have gone all the way to Hogsmeade."

Hugo started visibly, the clasped hands dropping from behind his head. "_What_?" he gasped. "You mean he snuck out of school? Why would he have done that?" he demanded.

"Because he's not exactly having the best day," snapped Albus.

Hugo was silent for a moment. "What are these rumors Lily was talking about?"

"Oh, which ones?" asked Albus sarcastically. "The ones about how I'm shagging Lestraud? Or the ones where he was cheating on Rose with Baddock, and Rose was cheating on him with Driscoll?"

Hugo's eyes widened.

"Yeah, I know, crazy right?" said Albus bitterly.

"You shagged Lestraud?" asked Hugo in utter disbelief.

"What? No, you prat," said Albus, clouting Hugo across the head with his hand.

"Then what about Baddock, and Driscoll?" Hugo asked, rubbing his head.

"The part about Baddock is a lie, Scorpius just hit some, um...unforeseen circumstances that some people took the wrong way. About Rose and Driscoll...well, I wouldn't say she was cheating, per se, but apparently she has strong feelings for Driscoll now, no longer Scorpius."

"Dang," said Hugo with awe. "I never took my sister for such a player. She's almost as bad as me."

"Do _not_ put Rose in the same category as you," said Albus, eyebrows raised.

They reached the entrance hall. It was abandoned. The torches illuminated the large hall, casting flickering shadows across the floor from their brackets in the wall.

"Lucky for us, no one's around," said Albus.

"Why's that?"

"Because," said Albus patiently, "in case you didn't realize, it's against school rules to go out after dark, and there's a whopping great beam across the doors."

Hugo looked up at said beam, and grimaced. "How are we going to get that off?"

"Well, since the bolts go all the way around it, we can't use Wingardium Leviosa to lift it off, so we're going to have to manually slide it out."

Hugo groaned.

"Don't be a baby," said Albus in annoyance. "Now, you start pushing it along, and I'll keep it steady as it slides out. Once the beam falls out of the second bolt though, you're going to have grab it, and make sure it doesn't hit the ground. You understand?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Hugo, taking up his place and starting to push the beam out of its bolts.

Albus moved along at the end of it, keeping it steady as it slid further out. "Okay, watch out, the end's coming out now," cautioned Albus.

"Yep, I got it," said Hugo confidently. The beam slid out of the last bolt, and started to fall. Hugo grabbed it confidently, but then a look of surprise crossed his features, and it pulled through his hands, and crashed to the floor with a deafening bang that Albus figured the whole castle would have heard.

Hugo stared down at where the beam lay in horror. "It weighed more than I expected..." he said, trailing off.

Albus was also gawking. "You _idiot_," he hissed. "Quick, let's _go_, before Peeves and the professors show up." Albus swung his cloak around his shoulders, and did the clasp quickly with fumbling hands. The cloak for Scorpius clenched tightly in his fist, he swung the double doors open, and plunged into the night.

Albus flinched back as if he had been slapped. It was raining. He hadn't realized, shoot.

Hugo collided with him from behind. Against his better judgment, Albus let out an oath as he was knocked forward, down the slope that lead away from the front entrance of the castle.

Because of the descent, and the grass being slippery and wet, Albus was forced into a run. He couldn't see anything, the night was pitch black, and the rain stung at his eyes. His heavy, dragon-hide boots were unable to save him, and he lost his footing. He slipped and fell, rolling down the incline. Water shot up in sheets. Albus threw out his arms to try and find something to catch onto, all he found was wet grass.

Albus hit the end of the slope, and fell face first into a shallow pool of water. He started to pull himself up when something heavy fell on top of him, forcing his head back into the water. He came back up spluttering and spitting gritty water.

"Hugo! Get _off_ me, you twit!" he yelled.

"Sorry, Albus," came Hugo's voice from above him. The weight shifted, and Albus was able to pull himself onto his knees.

Slowly, Albus's eyes started to adjust in the dark. He could dimly make out the shape of Hugo crouched next to him, the slope in front of him, and the light that shone through the open doors of the castle at the top of the incline. He could vaguely see the outline of a figure framed in the doorway, but he couldn't make out who it was, if it was a boy or a girl, a teacher or a student.

The rain whipped by in front of his face, lashing his dark locks across his face. The wind sliced through his clothes. It had a cold bite, a warning that winter was very nearly at hand. Shuddering, he pulled his cloak closer about him.

"How are we going to get to Hogsmeade?" Hugo yelled, trying to be heard above the weather.

"Whomping Willow," said Albus loudly. Hugo didn't need to ask for an explanation, he knew what that meant.

The two cousins ran along side-by-side. Pulling the collars of their cloaks up to try and shield themselves from the rain, although their attempts were fruitless.

When they reached the Whomping Willow, they found it in full swing. Its massive branches pounding left and right, not giving much room for maneuvering.

"How are we going to hit the knot?" asked Hugo, the rain plastering his flaming red hair to his forehead.

"We aren't," yelled Albus.

"Then how–" began Hugo, confused.

"_Immobulus_!" cried Albus. The Whomping Willow froze immediately, mid-motion.

Not much later, after passing through the secret passage that connected the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack, Hugo and Albus found themselves standing on the main street that ran through Hogsmeade village.

It was still pouring rain. Hugo and Albus were soaked to the skin, and miserable.

"Where do you think he'll be?" asked Hugo of Albus.

"Probably drunk in a bar, or maybe passed out on the street somewhere," said Albus, peering through the sheets of rain.

"What bar? You mean the Hog's Head? It may be dingy, but they won't serve him. They'll know he's a Hogwarts student, they'd get in trouble if they did."

"Not true, he's of age, he's seventeen, he can drink legally."

"Still, Hogwarts wouldn't be happy that he was drinking during the school year. They would be responsible for him."

Albus shook his head. "It still wouldn't stop him, but yes, you're right, he wouldn't go to the Hog's Head."

"Then where? Surely not the Three Broomsticks, he'd have absolutely no chance there," said Hugo, wiping aside his wet bangs.

Albus grinned. "There are some things, little cousin, that you know nothing about."

"Like what?"

"Like the Dragon Breath," said Albus.

"The what?" asked Hugo, blinking away the rain water.

"You'll see."

They started along the road, peering down all the side streets as they passed. They kept there eyes peeled for a humped figure laying collapsed somewhere, but for the longest of times, they didn't see anything that looked promising.

They were nearing the end of the road, and Hugo stopped to question Albus.

As if sensing what he was going to say, Albus said, "Almost there Hugo."

The two teenagers approached the last two buildings on the road. Squished between the two half-broken-down buildings was a narrow alley, barely four feet across.

Lying halfway down the alley, face-down in the mud, was a sprawled figure.

Albus recognized the person instantly as being Scorpius. He ran quickly to his friend, and fell to his knees. Grabbing Scorpius by the back of his robes, he heaved him up, bringing his head out of the mud.

Albus had no time to see the fist that shot out of the darkness, before it crashed into his jaw. Albus was lifted off his knees, his body was thrown back and to the side. His head hit the hard brick wall of the alley, and then the darkness came and swept over him like a tide.

**Author's Note:**

**Everybody loves Tapioca Pudding. ;) Anyways, don't forget to leave that review, and be on the look out for the next chapter. =]**


	9. The Dragon Breath

**Author's Note:**

**For all of those who do not know what Nephilim are, they are mentioned in the Bible like twice, and they are the descendants of humans and angels.**

**Thanks go to "WingsofGold", "ctc", "Dani", "TheUltimateReader", and "JessicaAmal". You guys are great, thanks so much for the reviews! :D**

Chapter 9: The Dragon Breath

"_Ennervate_."

Albus's eyes fluttered open.

A face hovered a few inches above Albus's. It was so coated in mud that Albus couldn't make out any of its features, not even the color of its hair. The only bit of actual person that he could see, were two bright, cobalt blue orbs.

"Come on, Albus, this is no time to be laying on the ground," drawled a familiar voice that emerged from beneath the mud-covered features.

Albus could just make out a pale face capped by red hair over Scorpius's shoulder.

"You idiot, why did you hit me?" said Albus angrily, scrambling to his feet.

The mud-covered figure that was Scorpius merely shrugged. "I thought you were a mugger, you shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"I didn't sneak up on you. You were lying with your _face _in a pile of filth."

Albus looked around. The alley was mostly sheltered from the rain by the buildings on either side, but that didn't stop the water from running off the main street and turning all the alley-dirt into mud.

"And besides, muggers hang out in cities, not little villages in the country."

"You never know," said Scorpius, shrugging once more.

"What were you doing, anyways?" asked Hugo curiously.

Scorpius sighed dramatically, as he was opt to do. "I drank an obscene amount of liquor in the Dragon Breath, and then made rather unchivalrous advances on one of the waitresses. The bartender didn't really like that, so he told me to sober up before I came back, and tossed me out here."

"You tried to seduce the waitress?" asked Hugo, gaping at Scorpius.

"No," said Scorpius irritably. "If I had tried to seduce one of the waitresses, I would have succeeded, but I merely made unchivalrous advances. There is quite a difference, Hugo."

"How is there a difference?" demanded Hugo.

"Hugo, really, I thought someone with as much experience as you in this area would know these things. The difference is–"

"And how did you come to be laying face-down in the mud?" interrupted Albus.

Scorpius looked at him in surprise, as if he thought this was obvious. "Well, that's where the bartender tossed me."

"Yes, I figured that, but whydid you just _lay there_?" Albus asked impatiently.

"I just lost the love of my life, and I felt like wallowing in self-pity and I figured that this was as good a place as any," said Scorpius in annoyance, brushing his hand through his mucky hair. "And besides, it was comfortable."

Albus shivered against the cold. Not only was he soaking wet still, but now he was half-covered in mud because of Scorpius, and his head was also throbbing slightly.

"Can we go somewhere to get warm?" he asked.

"We can return to The Dragon Breath," said Scorpius.

"I thought you said the bartender–" began Hugo.

"He said that I could return once I sobered up some, and I have, so he'll let me back in," said Scorpius confidently.

"Will they let someone my age in?" asked Hugo dubiously.

"Yeah, sure they will, Finnigan doesn't really care about age, as long as you aren't ten or something."

Scorpius pulled his wand from within his robes. He tapped a few of the bricks in the alley wall, and suddenly a door appeared. Across the front of it a neon sign flashed the words _The_ _Dragon Breath_.

Scorpius put a hand on the door handle, and flashed a grin over his shoulder at the two other boys. "Shall we, gentlemen?"

Albus hesitated, unsure. He could hardly refrain from noticing that Scorpius's eyes were too bright, and that he was unsteady on his feet; he was still drunk. But Hugo cried out cheerily, "Let's do it!"

Scorpius swung the door wide, and ducked inside. He was followed quickly by Hugo. And Albus, after looking over his shoulder nervously, as if embarrassed that someone might see him entering a pub, went after them.

**. . . . . .**

The interior had a fairly simple layout. A bar ran alongside the far side of the room, and a stage was set against one of the walls that was perpendicular to it. Tables were strewn here and there throughout the rest of the room. A mirror that hung on the wall behind the bar reflected the weird lighting of the multiple lava lamps, and the cloud of hazy smoke that had accumulated due to having no where to escape to and the low ceiling. Large posters of Irish Quidditch teams and cloverleafs adorned every empty bit of space.

Surprisingly, the pub was almost completely full, and it was quite loud. Hugo didn't see anybody else that looked quite as young as him or his friends; most of the people looked like they were in their thirties, but there were a couple who looked like they were in their twenties, but that was about it.

Two very tall, old men with white beards and who were dressed in Irish-green suits and matching bowler hats filled the stage. They were playing an up-beat Irish jig on fiddles, wringing the bows back and forth across their instruments to the beat of the clapping audience.

"Why is it so crowded?" asked Hugo, having to yell to be heard. "I mean, this is Hogsmeade, a small village, and plus it's pretty late."

"The Dragon Breath is one of the most popular pubs in all of Wizarding England, Hugo, people come from all over the country to enjoy a pint here," said Scorpius with a wink.

"Then how come I've never heard about it?" he demanded.

"Because, it's one of the most popular pubs in all of England among _certain crowds_, and those crowds aren't generally held high up in _reasonable _society," said Scorpius with a grin. "Anyways, I'm going to the loo to wash off this mud." Scorpius pressed his way through the room to a door near the stage, and disappeared inside.

Albus crossed the room and grabbed a seat at the bar, beckoning for Hugo to follow, and so he did.

Hugo pulled himself onto his stool, and then swiveled so that he was watching the two old men playing the fiddles.

Both of them had expressions of pure rapture on their faces as they played. It was as if they lived to make music. One of them had a wide smile on his face, and his blue eyes sparkled like crystals. The other had his eyes closed, and his face pressed gently against his instrument, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

The music was moving and carefree, it made one want to leap to his feet and start dancing (which was what several of the spectators were doing). To Hugo it sounded like all the promises of life bundled into one. It was like hearing the birds singing in the trees, and the seeing the sun rise on a glorious morning. He was held in the spell of the music, and he saw in his mind's eye a world full of nothing but happiness and peace. It was a world that sorrow and death had not touched, a world were everyone did nothing but love each other, care for each other.

And then the music stopped, and Hugo was jerked out of his reverie and back to earth. There was deafening applause and much cheering from the crowd.

"Thank you, thank you!" cried one of the musicians. "Now we will take a five minute break, and will commence directly thereafter, with more!" This was greeted by more cheers from the crowd.

Hugo slipped quickly off of his seat, and ran over to the stage where the two men were laying down their violins carefully, and stretching.

"That was amazing!" he said. Now that he was close to them, Hugo could see that they must be twins, for he could not tell one from the other.

One of them turned warm eyes and an even warmer smile on him. "Why thank you, kind sir," he said in a soft voice that was musical in itself.

"How did you get so good?" asked Hugo.

The man laughed– it was a deep, hearty laugh. "Through much, much practice, and a little bit of talent that God was good enough to grace us with. For music is the language of angels, the dialogue of heaven, and if I can grace this planet with a little taste of the spiritual realm, then I will consider my life fulfilled. That is why I make music."

"You mean, you're a Christian?" asked Hugo in surprise.

"That is not what I would call myself, but you may call me what you will," said the man, a twinkle in his eye.

Hugo's brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, then what _would _you call yourself?"

"Ah, but that I cannot say," said the man, smiling as if at an inside joke.

Hugo was about to ask him what he meant by that, when the man's companion (or twin) called him back to play more music.

**. . . . . .**

Albus tapped his fingers on the surface of the bar, going along with the music. When it stopped, and Hugo left his seat, Albus looked up in surprise, but didn't object.

Seamus Finnigan, owner of the Dragon Breath, strode by, his head bouncing up and down and left and right in time to the music– as if he hadn't noticed that it had ceased a moment ago.

"Mr. Finnigan," said Albus hesitantly.

"Yes?" asked the Irish man, turning to face Albus. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Maybe in a moment, but I just wanted to apologize for Scorpius's rude behavior earlier."

Seamus's brow furrowed in confusion. "What did he do? Did he bother one of the other customers?"

It was Albus's turn to be confused. "Well, no, but he said that he, er, made unchivalrous advances on one of the waitresses here, and you told him to sober up and tossed him into the street."

Seamus looked bewildered. "I don't know what you're talking about. The last time I saw Scorpius in here, before you guys entered just now, was over a week ago, and he behaved just fine then."

Albus shook his head, as if trying to clear it. "Okay, then, sorry to have bothered you."

"No trouble," said Seamus cheerily, going about his business.

Hugo returned just then, and clambered back onto his seat– he looked as confused as Albus felt.

"Those are some odd blokes, those musicians are," said Hugo, looking thoughtful.

"Oh?" asked Albus, still trying to work out why Scorpius had lied to him.

"Yeah, the one I was talking to kept muttering about angels and heaven and such."

"Maybe he's a Christian?"

"That's what I thought, but he said that's not what he would call himself."

"Maybe he's an angel himself, come to rape our women and make little baby Nephilim that will grow up to purge our world of sinners." It was Scorpius, his face and hair clean and visible. Blonde wet strands stuck to his head and gave him an overall damp-looking effect.

Scorpius threw himself onto the seat between Albus and Hugo. "Where's our drinks?"

"I was waiting for you, I didn't ask for anything yet," said Albus.

"Very well, what do you each want?"

"A Dragon Breath, of course," said Albus.

"I thought Dragon Breath was the name of the pub," said Hugo.

"It is," said Scorpius impatiently, "but it's also their signature drink. What do you want, Hugo?"

"I guess I'll have a Dragon Breath, too," answered Hugo.

"Alright, three Dragon Breathes it is," said Scorpius with a smirk.

"Are you sure?" asked Albus. "It's pretty strong, Hugo."

Scorpius laughed. "You act all tough, Albus, as if you can down them without wetting your pants."

"I do not wet myself," said Albus indignantly.

"You do too, you just won't admit it," said Scorpius, looking superior.

"Just watch me down them like water," growled Albus.

"I gotta see this," said Scorpius, a glitter in his eye. He signaled a nearby waitress. "Three Dragon Breathes, please," he said, flashing one of his charming smiles.

The waitress grinned back at Scorpius. "Coming right up, anything for you, Scorpius," she said.

"You seem quite known around here, Scorpius," said Hugo.

Scorpius shrugged. "I'm a regular."

Five minutes later, each boy had a pint of dangerous looking black liquid in front of them. Albus looked down at his, watching the steam that curled up from it in apprehension. He swallowed hard.

"Not about to back down, are you?" asked Scorpius. Albus was so absorbed in staring at his drink, that he didn't notice the smug expression on Scorpius's face that seemed to say that Scorpius knew Albus would give in to his taunts.

"Of course not," answered Albus glumly.

A slurping sound sound emanated from Hugo. Albus and Scorpius both looked over to see him setting his pint down on the table, which he followed up with a loud belch.

"No way," said Albus, his jaw dropping in surprise.

"Blimey, Hugo, done already?" asked Scorpius.

Hugo wiped the back of his hand across his mouth. "Boy, that stuff tastes horrid, why does anyone drink it?"

"It's not supposed to taste good, it's for getting drunk with," said Albus still staring in surprise, even Scorpius looked rather impressed.

"You better get started, Albus, or Hugo is going to leave you in the dust," said Scorpius, signaling the waitress for another Dragon Breath.

Albus grabbed his drink, and held it high. "To drowning our sorrows in liquor!" he cried. Giving it one last moody glance, he started to chug.

Albus wasn't sure how many drinks later it was before the whole world started to become tipsy. It was impossible to know how many they had each drunk, for the waitress had cleared each empty glass away as she put forth the new.

Hugo was looking rather green, and was clutching at the counter to prevent himself from falling over backward. Scorpius's eyes were far, far to bright for Albus's liking, and his usually pale cheeks were flushed very red.

"We should probably go," said Albus, feeling like he was about to fall over.

"But I was just getting started," protested Scorpius thickly.

"Scorpius, come on," said Albus, dumping some Galleons on the counter, and rising to his feet. A wave of dizziness overcame him, and he grasped the bar to in order to stay upright.

"Okay, okay..." said Scorpius, standing up as well. "Come on, Hugo," he said, hoisting the other boy to his feet.

As soon as Scorpius released Hugo, the redhead collapsed to the floor.

"Oh, come now, Hugo," said Scorpius, bending over to help him up again. "No, no, don't fall back down again, gravity is a harsh mistress, I know, but we need to learn to live alongside her as best we can. No, see, you stand on your _feet_, not your face."

Somehow they all managed to get out into the alley, though it was tough work, with all three of them barely managing to keep on their feet.

As soon as they broke out through the door, Hugo grabbed at the wall, and turning away from Albus and Scorpius, puked rather violently.

Scorpius leaned back against the closed door, looking as if he was about to peel over. "Poor Hugo, getting his first taste of liquor, and couldn't quite keep it all down."

Hugo straightened back up, looking slightly less green. He swayed dangerously on his feet, and started to fall forward– and would have pitched forward into his own pile of puke if Albus hadn't grabbed him and pulled him back.

Suddenly, the door to the Dragon Breath opened inward, making Scorpius tumble over backward into a man in a gray coat. "Watch it," said the man harshly, shoving Scorpius off of him and back out into the alley.

The man stomped off while muttering something under his breath about drunk kids.

Scorpius had somehow managed to avoid falling on his face when the man pushed him, and was now leaning against the brick wall.

"Come on, let's go," said Albus, his head felt like it was near exploding. A bit late, he supposed it hadn't been the best idea to go drinking after hitting his head so hard. He started off onto the main street, with Hugo's arm thrown around his shoulders and relying on him for support. Scorpius followed after them shakily.

It had ceased raining, but everything was still wet, and small pools of water were gathered here and there in any dip in the street, or uneven spot of ground. Albus was careful to avoid such areas, so that there was less danger of slipping– which was already quite considerable, seeing as how drunk he was.

The three boys stumbled along, making slow progress. Scorpius had moved to the front of the group, and was plodding along ten feet or so in front of the other two boys. They were halfway or so to the Shrieking shack, when Albus cried out in alarm.

Scorpius spun on his heel, and stared.

Hugo was now lying on the ground, and was having some sort of seizure. His body was going through spasms, snapping back and forth, his hair flying about his head in a frenzied flaming whirlwind.

Albus stumbled back in surprise. "Scorpius, what do we do?" he cried.

Scorpius rushed forward and fell to his knees beside Hugo, moving much to fast and stably for someone who had drunken as much liquor as he supposedly had, but Albus did not have time to think about that now.

With each hand, Scorpius grabbed one of Hugo's thrashing arms, but it was no good. They were merely wrenched off as Hugo's body snapped around.

Scorpius let off a slew of colorful oaths.

Suddenly, Hugo's body soared up into the air, his arms outstretched to either side, his toes pointed downward, his head hanging limply over his shoulders, and his eyes rolled back into his head.

Scorpius scrambled back, and to his feet, eyes widening in surprise.

A dark purple light started to emanate from, and surround Hugo's body. It condensed into a haze, and Hugo was lost to view.

"Scorpius!" yelled Albus. The pain in his head had increased and was becoming unbearable, he fell to his knees.

Scorpius drew his wand, and pointed it up at the center of the smoky purple cloud.

And that's when the pain got the better of Albus, and he lost sight of the world.

**Author's Note:**

**I hope for everyone that the story is keeping up its promise, and that you are continuing to enjoy it. And yes, I do realize that Albus seems to have a knack for "fainting/passing out" right at the end of the chapter. =P**


	10. The Redheaded Playboy

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks "WingsofGold" and "Andrea" for leaving reviews, it helps a lot to know when people are enjoying my work.**

Chapter 10: The Redheaded Playboy

Scorpius hesitated, unsure of what to do, his wand pointed at the purple cloud that held Hugo. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Albus lying collapsed on the ground. He finally made the decision to just wait out whatever was happening.

Before he could make the slightest of movements, a voice cried out, "No! Don't try and intervene!"

Scorpius turned in confusion to see the two musicians from the pub rushing up the street toward him. "I wasn't going to do any–" he began.

"Get back from him, get back!" one of them yelled, waving his arms to indicate for Scorpius to get away from the purple cloud. Scorpius did as instructed.

The two men were upon him now, their Irish-green suit jackets blowing behind them as they ran. One of them held the bill of his bowler hat to keep it from flying off as he rushed to where Albus lay. He grabbed the limp body of the boy, and pulled him farther away from the haze that concealed Hugo.

"What do we do?" asked Scorpius, quickly walking over to where the two musicians were standing by where they had dragged Albus, a good fifteen feet or so from Hugo.

"We wait it out," one of them said, watching the purple cloud which had darkened till it was almost black. Wind had started to gather and was now swirling in a sort of miniature tornado around the cloud.

"What's happening to him?" asked Scorpius.

"He's growing into his future, his destiny," said the other musician cryptically.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Scorpius demanded. "Generally most people don't turn into a purple cloud when they grow up, or have I been missing something my whole life?" He had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise of the wind that seemed to be growing stronger.

Neither one of the men answered. They were both standing completely still, merely watching the proceedings. Scorpius was taller than your average person, but both of these men were over a whole head taller than him. They stood at their full height, looking serene and powerful.

Suddenly the wind blasted outward, knocking Scorpius off his feet, though the two men stood unshaken. The purple cloud started to disappear quickly, it looked as if it was being sucked inward. And then Hugo reappeared, and indeed the haze _was _getting sucked inward, for it was _entering _Hugo's body. Scorpius let out an exclamation of surprise from where he had been knocked to the ground.

Hugo hung suspended in the air for a moment, and then started to fall. One of the old men moved quicker than Scorpius would have expected, and leapt forward to catch him. But just before Hugo's body fell into the man's waiting arms, it was sucked back up into the air once more.

The man took a step back, startled; clearly he had not expected for this to happen.

Hugo floated in the air once more, ten or so feet off the ground. His mouth dropped open, and words started to flow out. But it was not Hugo's voice that they heard, but a much deeper, stronger one.

"_Beware the one who would have the world bow at their feet. Beware where they shall strike, for it shall be where no one expects. Look for help in the one neglected. Rise up shall the ones at the sides, no longer shall people be turned from them. The hour has come._"

With that last sentence, Hugo's body fell from the air. The man once more jumped forward to catch him, and this time Hugo descended into his open arms.

It was suddenly very quiet. Scorpius could not hear a sound. Not the rustle of leaves. Not the movement of a creature.

"To have a prophecy so quickly...I did not expect..." said the man who held Hugo, so softly that Scorpius barely heard it.

"Wait a second," said Scorpius, stepping forward, "prophecy? Surely you jest, you mean Hugo is some sort of hocus-pocus fortuneteller?"

The man turned to Scorpius with a smile. "Ah, yes, Weasley is a Diviner, and a very powerful one at that– if I am not much mistaken."

Scorpius stared at him uncomprehendingly. "Hugo? Little, nobody, Hugo? Are we both talking about the same redheaded playboy, who has an intense fear of spiders?" asked Scorpius incredulously.

"He will become a great asset in what is to come, I'm sure," said the other man, the one who wasn't holding Hugo.

"_What is to come_?" echoed Scorpius, bewildered. "Who _are _you guys? I mean, besides both being quirky musicians with no fashion sense, and an abnormal taste for the cryptically confusing."

"I am Lasair," said the one who was holding Hugo. "This is my brother, Meallan."

Scorpius blinked. "I didn't realize there were mothers out there who deliberately wanted to make life as difficult as possible for their kids."

"I think I misunderstand you," said Lasair. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," said Scorpius hastily. "Shouldn't we be getting these two back to the castle?" Scorpius indicated Hugo, and the slumped form of Albus on the ground.

"I think that would be wise, yes," answered Lasair.

"_Ennervate_," muttered Scorpius, his wand hovering above Albus's head. Nothing happened. "_Ennervate_," said Scorpius again.

"Is something the matter?" asked Lasair.

"He's not responding to my awakening charm," said Scorpius confused.

"Maybe he is not actually passed out, merely on the verge due to pain," said Lasair politely.

"Yes, I knew that," grumbled Scorpius. He grabbed one of Albus's limp arms, and threw it around his shoulders. He rose to his feet, bringing Albus with him.

A low groan emanated from between Albus's lips.

"Come, come, Albus," said Scorpius, starting to walk forward as best he could with the dead weight hanging onto him. "This is no time to be unresponsive and out of it."

There was a low murmuring from Albus.

"What was that? Oh, I see, you asked how I ended up carrying you, when I was supposed to be the one who was an emotional wreck. The answer to that is, I really don't know, I guess it turns out I'm made of sterner stuff than you."

To this Albus made no sort of reply whatsoever.

"So, tell me again, who are you?" Scorpius asked. He was walking along as fast as he could with Albus clinging to him, but even so, Lasair and Meallan had to shorten their outrageously long strides quite a bit, even with Lasair carrying Hugo.

"I told you, I am Lasair, and this is Meal–" began Lasair.

"Your brother, yes, I know that," interrupted Scorpius impatiently. "But what were you doing in the Dragon Breath, and how do you know all this stuff about Hugo being a Diviner, or so you say?"

"It was our duty to watch and wait for the moment when young Weasley's powers would awaken." It was Meallan who answered this time.

"Duty?" echoed Scorpius. "I thought we lived in a morally corrupt age where the sense of duty, chivalry, and honor was dead."

"What do you mean? Everyone has a duty, even if they refuse to face it. Though, yes, chivalry and honor are sadly lacking in the people of today. Why, I think–"

"Yeah, I agree, exactly," said Scorpius hastily, not wanting to get sidetracked into a discussion of morals. "But, why was this your duty?"

"We were told to wait until the one with the mark would come, and he did," said Lasair.

"Mark? What's that supposed to mean?" asked Scorpius.

"The Diviner's mark."

"What does it look like?"

"It is not just a physical mark, it something you can sense on the person who has it, it is part of their being, their essence. The physical mark itself is small, and it rides on the Diviner's right shoulder."

"I never noticed anything. Then again, it's not like I spend time looking at Hugo's bare upper body," added Scorpius hastily.

They had now made it to the Shrieking Shack, and were already moving along the passage that would take them into the school grounds. Scorpius ran his hand lightly along the rough earth wall, thinking as he watched the slouched back of Lasair in front of him.

"Who told you to wait for Hugo?"

"Our master."

"Who is your master? And what were you supposed to do once you met Hugo?"

"It is not for us to tell you who are master is. He told us to wait and watch until the Diviner came into his full power, and then we were supposed to protect him, look out for him, watch over him," said Meallan.

"Is that what that was back there?"

"Yes, it was."

"What triggered it? What controls when a Diviner comes into his power?" asked Scorpius.

"A Diviner is marked from birth, but they do not gain their ability in full force until some climactic events are coming that could flow many different ways. Before this, their power would not go further then a sixth sense of sorts, if you get my meaning."

Just then, they emerged from beneath the Whomping Willow. Scorpius could see lights here and there, emanating from the castle.

"Climactic events? What do mean by that? What's going to happen?" demanded Scorpius.

"Ah, but that is not for us to reveal," said Lasair. "We are here merely to watch over and protect this new, young Diviner."

They were now marching up the slope to the castle. Albus was still leaning heavily on Scorpius, and was not giving much signs of recovering anytime soon. And Hugo had been unconscious since his little "episode."

"What was it that happened to Hugo _after _the purple cloud thing went away, he said something in a weird voice, was that part of coming into power, or was it something else?"

"It was his first premonition. Most Diviners do not have one so soon after they gain their ability, but like we said before, young Weasley will be quite exceptional if we aren't mistaken," said Meallan.

They were standing outside the front doors to the school now.

"Very well, we leave you here," said Lasair.

"What, you can't be serious," said Scorpius. "What about Hugo? Is he going to be different at all? What do I tell him? What do I tell Albus? What do I tell everyone _else_? Is he even going to be _okay_? Does he need to go to the Infirmary?"

It was very dark, and Scorpius couldn't see much, but two flashes of white revealed that Lasair and Meallan were smiling at him. "Do not worry, young Mr. Malfoy, everything will be alright. Mr. Weasley needs rest, that is all. As for telling others, we will leave that up to you, what you think is best. It does not really concern us who knows, and who does not, for I suspect that not very long from now most people will know of his gift," said Lasair.

"We will be close by, always watching, always at hand," said Meallan.

"Wait, there is so much more I need to know," said Scorpius.

"No, there is not, for we have told you already more than we need have. We are here for the young Weasley, not for you," said Lasair gently.

"Wait–" began Scorpius, reaching forward to grab Lasair by the wrist. But his hand closed on empty air.

He looked around in confusion, but Lasair and Meallan were no where to be seen. Albus still clung to him, and Hugo was now lying face up on the ground near him.

Scorpius reached out his hand, and attempted to push open the door to the entrance hall, but it was no use. It was bolted from the inside.

Scorpius stomped his foot in frustration, and then slowly lowered Albus to the ground beside Hugo. Straightening up again, he banged his fist hard on the large oak double doors.

He knew he would get in trouble, because he knew that they would be found out for drinking, and of course they had left the school after dark, but he didn't care. Under other circumstances he would have summoned his broom, rode up to the Astronomy Tower, and gone to get help from a fellow student in getting Hugo and Albus inside.

But no, he had enough on his mind, and he didn't care about getting in trouble right now. Such a thing seemed trivial and mundane at the moment, all things considered.

He could hear the large beam that locked the door sliding away, and then, slowly, the doors swung inwards.

A middle-aged woman stood framed in the doorway, the light from the entrance hall pouring out from behind her, casting her face in shadow. That didn't prevent Scorpius from seeing the expression of strong disapproval on her features.

"Greetings, Professor," said Scorpius cheerily.

"Hallo, Mr. Malfoy, I've been wondering when you would come back," said Hermione Weasley, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

**. . . . . .**

Lily ducked, and the jet of blue light flew over her head and shattered a mirror on the wall. Another hex came shooting at her, and she dived out of the way. She rolled as she hit the ground, and came up running.

And yet another one flew at her. She leapt into the air to avoid it, only to find another jinx soaring right at her.

It connected with her side, and sent her flying back and crashing into the wall. She fell to her hands and knees, breathing heavily.

"_Stupefy_!"

Lily's head snapped up in surprise just in time to greet the red streak of light, and everything went black.

"_Ennervate."_

Lily's eyelids fluttered open to see Monique leaning over her, and grinning down from between curtains of silver hair.

"Gotcha," said Monique with satisfaction, and offered a hand.

"You sure did," said Lily with a grimace, letting Monique help her to her feet.

"That last one before the stunner sure hurt. Was that really necessary?" she asked.

Monique shrugged. "In a real fight someone won't go easy, so why should I, now?"

"Good point," said Lily, rubbing her side ruefully.

Lily's first impression of Monique had been that she was what Lily would call a girly-girl. A girl who was, for the most part at least, just interested in boys and makeup and the like. As it turned out, this was a wrong assumption

As Lily spent more and more time with Monique, she realized that the other girl was very forthright and fierce. That they were practicing dueling in the Room of Requirement just went to prove that. But despite the fact that Monique was a kind of tomboy in some ways, she was also in her own way (again, what Lily considered) a girly-girl. For she was very interested in boys, and she also cared a lot about her appearance.

At the moment, the Room of Requirement was empty, except for the floor-length mirrors that covered the walls. It was to give them all the room they needed to practice their dueling.

After their little encounter with Albus and Hugo, Monique and her had tried to come to a decision about what to do, and had at last, decided to come and practice their casting together.

Lily wiped a sweaty lock of hair out of her face. "Drink?" she asked Monique.

"Sure," Monique answered.

A second later a tray with two glasses of cold pumpkin juice on it was floating at waist height between them.

"Room of Requirement– you gotta love it," said Monique with a smile, taking a glass and raising it to her lips.

"Mmhmm," murmured Lily around her drink which she was already chugging down.

Once they had finished, they placed their empty glasses back on the tray, and it immediately vanished.

"Why don't you bother with the way you look, more?" asked Monique with a surprising change of topic. "With just a couple touch-ups, you would have boys stumbling over each other coming after you."

Lily looked at the other girl in surprise. She had never thought that she was beautiful, and nobody had every told her different, besides people that were related to her, like her mom or aunt, but they didn't count. But, of course, Monique hadn't said she was beautiful, per se, and she might be saying that she could because they were new friends. "You don't mean that, surely?"

"You have potential, definitely. I mean, look at your hair for crying out loud! Nobody has hair like that, girl."

"Well, Baddock does," said Lily, smiling wryly.

Monique shook her head. "Baddock's is reasonably similar, I'll admit, but hers is more of a red-gold, a lighter color. While yours is a deep red, a burning, fiery red."

Lily laughed. "Thanks, Monique."

"No, but seriously, why don't you bother with your appearance?" she asked, looking curiously at Lily.

Lily shrugged. "I guess it's just never been that important to me."

Monique shook her head again, as if she couldn't imagine a girl's looks not being important enough to her to bother with.

"Well, do you want to go for another round, or do something different all together?" asked Monique.

"I think it's getting pretty late," said Lily doubtfully. As soon as the sentence was out of her mouth, an old grandfather clock appeared nearby.

Monique gave it a fleeting glance. "Who cares about the time?" she said. "You want to go flying?" At this, suddenly a rack with different broom models appeared near them. "Nothing like some night flying. It would be under the stars, and beautiful. Nothing like it."

Lily hesitated, when put _that _way, the idea was very enticing.

"You know you want to," said Monique with a grin. The girl grabbed two brooms from the rack, and tossed one to Lily. "Let's go," she said, heading for the door.

"I never said–" began Lily.

Monique was already at the door, holding it open and looking back at Lily. "You coming?" And with that, the girl stepped out.

After a second, Lily followed.


	11. Never Adorable

Chapter 11: Never Adorable

The blonde boy sat directly in front of her, across the desk. Albus sat on his right, her own son on his left. Such contrasts, the three of them. One with blonde hair so fine it was almost white, one with jet-black hair that was made up of thicker and heavier locks, and then her son, with flaming hair that was somewhere in the middle.

At the moment, Hugo was lying like someone dead in his chair. His body was completely limp, and his head hung over the back of the seat. She had tried to revive him with a simple _Ennervate_, but this had proven fruitless. Scorpius had assured her that he was fine, just so exhausted that even a spell wouldn't awaken him.

Albus was sitting up straight, and looking around out of bleary, slightly unfocused eyes. After Scorpius had told her what was up with him, she had used a simple pain reducing charm, and then he had started to respond.

Scorpius was, as usual, looking bored, and as if he thought the world should be running around making sure he was comfortable.

Hermione sighed. "So, do you want to tell me what you three were doing outside of the castle, after dark?"

"Not really, no," said Scorpius.

"Mr. Malfoy, do you want to get into worse trouble then you're already in at the moment?" she asked.

Scorpius opened his mouth to say something, but Albus was faster. "Of course he doesn't," said Albus hastily. Scorpius shot him a look of irritation.

"Were you on the grounds, or did you leave the school entirely?" demanded Hermione.

"I don't see why it matters," said Scorpius in annoyance. "May I?" Scorpius leaned forward, his hand hovering over the small dish of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that sat on her desk.

"Sure, have as many as you like," said Hermione absentmindedly.

Scorpius took a small handful and sat back, smiling gleefully.

"Why won't you just tell me?" asked Hermione.

"No offense, Professor, but when you were but a wee lass at Hogwarts, did the students go around admitting to their crimes?" asked Scorpius, leaning forward and taking the whole dish of jellybeans this time.

"In my day, all the kids were amazingly well behaved. No one ever stuck so much as a toe out of line," sniffed Hermione.

"Right," snorted Albus. "You are my aunt, aren't you? The one who always snuck around after dark, who started Dumbledore's Army against the strict orders of the Headmistress?"

Scorpius grinned. Hermione frowned.

"We're at school, Mr. Potter, and you will address me as either Headmistress, or Professor," said Hermione.

"Ah, come on, aunt, we don't have to be so formal. You know you want to just lean back and relax," said Albus.

"Yeah, that's right. It's late, you must be tired. Why don't you just let us off the hook, so we can all get to bed?" put in Scorpius.

Hermione suppressed a smile. "You're right, I am tired, and I do want to get to bed. So, I'll make this nice and quick. Because you won't tell me exactly what you were up to, I'll just have to go ahead and give you each detention once a week until Christmas. And thirty points each from Gryffindor."

The dish that had held the jellybeans, but was now empty, clattered to the floor. Scorpius and Albus were both staring at her in horror.

"Surely you jest, Professor," said Scorpius.

"Aunt, you can't be serious," said Albus, gawking at her.

Hermione stood to her feet, stretching out her arms. "I might reconsider, if you tell me what you were really up to," she said, watching both of them.

"Um, I think we'll be going now," said Scorpius hastily, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, that's okay," said Albus.

Hermione suppressed another smile. "I'll let you know the details on your detention sometime tomorrow. Now, please remove yourselves from my office, so that I can go get some sleep."

Scorpius and Albus, each taking Hugo by one of his arms, hoisted the other boy to his feet, and dragged him out of the office.

Hermione watched them go thoughtfully. She remembered the day, six years ago, that Harry had come bursting into their house, waving a letter about in the air.

_"Look! Ron, Hermione! Albus's first letter from Hogwarts. You wouldn't believe it, he's made friends with Malfoy! _Malfoy_! I mean, talk about irony."_

_ "What? Write him back and tell him he can do better than that slimy git!" Ron bellowed._

_ "Ron, please, give the boy a chance. He's probably perfectly nice," Hermione chided him._

_ "But, but, he's a Slytherin!" Ron said._

_ "No, actually,he's in Gryffindor, too," said Harry._

_ "Wow, I bet Draco will flog him when he gets home, Slytherin pride and all," said Ron._

_ "No," said Harry thoughtfully, "I don't think he will. That is probably what Lucius would have done, but Draco is not his father. He might have become him once upon a time, but not after his experience with the Dark Lord. That changed him."_

_ "What do you think will come of this friendship?" asked Hermione._

_ "I don't know. Maybe it'll become nothing, maybe they'll become close. There's nothing to do, but wait and see."_

Hermione smiled to herself. At the time, they could hardly imagine Albus Potter being friends with Scorpius Malfoy, but now, all these years later, she couldn't picture either of them without the other.

Stifling a yawn, Hermione headed to bed.

**. . . . . .**

"He's still passed out," said Scorpius with distaste, standing in the doorway of the fifth-year's dormitory.

"You're kidding me, right?" said Albus, peering over Scorpius's shoulder.

But there he was, lying sprawled on his four-poster, his arm thrown across his face.

"That whole coming of power thing must really have done him in. You don't think we should tell anyone, do you?" asked Albus anxiously.

"Nah, not yet, anyways. We should probably talk to him first," said Scorpius, turning away from the room, and swinging the door shut behind him. Scorpius had filled Albus in on everything that had happened, while they were walking back to the Gryffindor Tower the night before.

"Let's go to breakfast then," said Albus, turning and walking down the stairs to the common room.

They slid out of the portrait hole, and found Baddock waiting for them. She was leaning against the wall, a pose remarkably like one Scorpius often used. Her hair was wet, and twist up into a fancy bun at the back of her head.

"Potter," she said with a nod at Albus. "Malfoy," she said, giving Scorpius a wide smile.

"Baddock," said Scorpius cordially.

She stepped toward him, and slid her hand into his, interlocking their fingers. "Let's get some breakfast together, shall we?"

Scorpius pulled his hand back, but didn't move away. "What are you playing at?" he demanded.

"Oh, come now," she said. "The whole school knows that Driscoll is with Rose now, and they all think we're together. We wouldn't want to disappoint them, would we?" she asked.

"On the contrary," said Scorpius wryly, "I think that all the women of Hogwarts would be quite crushed to know I got a new girlfriend already, and didn't give them any chance to try and take the highly desired role."

Baddock laughed. "Your charm never ceases to work its wonders. Let's go, dear," she said.

"Ah, I think you are kind of confused, Baddock," said Scorpius. "Just because we shared a passionate kiss yesterday, and Rose is no longer with me, that does not mean we are suddenly an, ah, what do they call it? An _item_."

"But why not?" demanded Baddock. "I'm beautiful, you're beautiful. I have wit, you have wit. I'm popular, you're popular. We were made to be together, a perfect fit. Besides, you have no other ties, why won't you have me?" She took another step toward Scorpius. Albus noticed they were dangerously close now, but Scorpius did not back down.

"You see, lovely Baddock, while all that is true, there is this thing called a heart. Generally, that needs to be tied in when people are involved with each other. And while you are practically irresistible, my heart is otherwise engaged."

"Why? She no longer wants you, she's with Driscoll now. It's time to move on, Malfoy," said Baddock.

"That may be true, but that is not a decision that is directly under my control at the moment." With that, Scorpius spun on his heel and walked away, followed by Albus.

"I'll be waiting," called Baddock after them. Scorpius made no reply.

They entered the Great Hall, and Scorpius's tensed, ever so slightly. Albus turned to look at what had made Scorpius react.

Rose was sitting at the Slytherin table, Driscoll's arm around her shoulders. She was looking down at her plate and blushing slightly, as Driscoll whispered something in her ear.

Scorpius turned, and went and found a seat among his fellow Gryffindors, shaking his head.

Albus followed his friend, looking up toward the head table, wondering what Hermione would think about this latest turn of events. He saw her watching her daughter, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"We need to work on the Patronus sometime, Albus," said Scorpius.

Albus looked up from his food, and blinked in surprise. "Yeah, okay. But what are we going to do about everything else?"

"Everything else?" echoed Scorpius.

"Well, Hugo and Driscoll."

"What about them? There is nothing to be done with Driscoll, he won Rose's heart. I lost it. There's nothing more to it," he said flatly. "As for Hugo, I don't see what else we are supposed to do besides tell him what happened."

"You don't think that, maybe, all these things are tied in together, somehow?" asked Albus.

Scorpius looked slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't thought of that. "I don't think so," he said slowly. "Like I said, Driscoll and Rose are an open and closed matter, nothing there. As for Hugo, I highly doubt that a little bit of blackmail among students is going to lead to the climactic events that Hugo is supposedly going to be predicting, Albus."

"I guess you're right," said Albus, turning back to his food.

"I'll see you in History of Magic," said Scorpius, getting to his feet.

"What? Where are you going?" asked Albus.

"Nowhere," said Scorpius.

"If you're moving from here, you must be going somewhere," said Albus.

Scorpius shook his head. "It's my own business."

"Okay," said Albus, not wanting to press the matter. He watched silently as Scorpius left.

Scorpius walked down the lane between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff house tables, his eyes fixed straight ahead. One foot in front of the other, that was all there was to it.

He entered the entrance hall, and positioning himself so that no one could see him from inside the Great Hall, he leaned against the wall.

The students who passed looked at him curiously, but he studiously ignored them, keeping his eyes on the floor, his lids lowered.

It wasn't long before they came, his arm still flung carelessly around her. They froze a few feet from Scorpius when they caught sight of him.

He raised his eyes, and surveyed them. Driscoll's dark eyes watched him closely, and were hard to read, his face a mask. Rose looked at him, then at Driscoll, and then back at him, her eyes filled with worry.

"So, Rose," began Scorpius quietly, "do you have time for your old friends, or are you going to spend it all with...with him." He jerked his chin at Driscoll.

"Why would she want to spend any of her time with people like you?" asked Driscoll coldly.

Scorpius pulled himself off the wall. "I think Rose can speak for herself, Driscoll," said Scorpius, his voice icy.

"Okay, you want to hear it in her own voice? Then, by all means, I won't stop you." Driscoll turned to Rose. "Tell him, tell him, darling. Tell him how you want to spend all your time with me."

Rose wrapped her arms around herself, and seemed to shrink inside herself, to become smaller.

"Rose?" said Scorpius, softly, gently.

Rose looked anywhere but at Scorpius, not wanting to make eye contact with him. "It is true, Scorpius, I do want to spend as much time as possible with Driscoll." Now she brought her deep eyes up to his. "But that doesn't mean I don't care for you anymore, I-"

Scorpius held his hand up to silence her. "Don't," he said. "I understand. It's okay, you don't have to say anymore."

"Scorpius-"

"Just go," he said, turning his back on them.

There was a moment of silence, then they brushed past him. At the foot of the stairs, they halted. Driscoll looked back at him, and flashed his white teeth in what Scorpius thought hardly could be counted as a smile.

Rose looked up in confusion at Driscoll, not sure why he had stopped. Driscoll flicked his gaze purposefully down to her face, and then, leaning over, he kissed her full on the lips. It was brief, but still, it was there.

Scorpius's hands curled into fists that were so tight, they left crescent-moon shaped marks on his palms. His teeth ground together painfully.

As Driscoll pulled back, Scorpius thought he saw the flash of something, there in his eyes. Was it amusement? Satisfaction?

Then they were gone, Driscoll pulling Rose up the stairs after him.

Scorpius turned away, and walked right into Lily.

"Watch it!" he snapped, pulling back.

"Well, sor- ry," Lily said.

"What are you doing?" asked Scorpius irritably.

"Walking in the entrance hall. Why, is that against the law?" she asked with annoyance.

"When you get in my way it is," said Scorpius, moving to walk around her.

She stepped in his way hastily. "Arrogant and irritable as ever this morning, are we, Scorpius?"

"Get out of my way," he said, glaring down at her.

"Does this have anything to do with whatever was going on last night?" She was rewarded by Scorpius's eyes widening in surprise, if ever so slightly.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know very well," she said. "I know you ran off for one thing, and that Albus and Hugo went after you. I also know that you returned quite late, and that Albus was unable to walk completely by himself, for some reason. _And_, that there were two strange men with you who were carrying Hugo. What was that all about?" she demanded.

"I don't know how you knew all that, unless you were following us around for some reason, but you should learn to not go messing around with things that don't concern you," he said, rather viciously.

She stuck her fists on her hips. "What is going on? I know _something_ is up. You and Albus have been acting weirdly lately, and I don't know about what's going on with Driscoll and Rose and you, or Baddock and you-"

"_Nothing_, is going on with Baddock and me, for Merlin's sake!" said Scorpius in exasperation.

Something fled briefly across Lily's face. It was gone so fast that Scorpius didn't catch it clearly, but he thought it might be, could it possibly have been, relief?

"_So_, you don't deny the rest!" said Lily in triumph.

Scorpius made gurgling sound in his throat. "You're impossible," he said.

"I wouldn't be one to talk," said Lily, a faint smile on her face.

"Move," he said.

"No," said Lily, sticking out her chin defiantly. "Not until you explain things to me."

Lily could see the muscle in his jaw working furiously as it clenched and unclenched.

"I don't want to do this," he said at last.

"Do what?" asked Lily in surprise.

"Manhandle you, but you give me no choice," he said.

Before Lily could say or do anything, he had placed one hand on each side of her waist, and forced her to the side. Unexpectedly, this shot what felt like bolts of electricity through her whole body.

As he walked past her, he let go. "Thank you," he said, giving her an elegant smile.

She turned and called after his back which was walking quickly away. "That would be woman-handling, or at least human-handling, thank you very much."

He didn't reply, or make the smallest movement to turn or stop, but she could see his shoulders shaking slightly in silent laughter.

**. . . . . .**

Albus looked up from _The Daily Prophet, _as Scorpius sat down across the table from him. "I thought you said you were going to meet me in History of Magic?" he asked curiously.

"What?" asked Scorpius in confusion, his mind coming back to earth.

This surprised Albus- Scorpius was one who rarely was to be caught daydreaming, in a reverie, past memory, or anything of that sort.

"History of Magic?" he asked helpfully.

"Oh, right. Well, I finished what I needed to do."

"That quickly?"

"Yes, that quickly. Why, is there something wrong with that, Albus?" Scorpius asked irritably.

"No, nothing. Nothing at all," said Albus, looking down at the paper spread in front of him.

"Anything worthwhile?" asked Scorpius, though his voice held no real interest.

"Nah, nothing much," said Albus, eyes still on the paper.

"Here she comes. Again. What will she do this time?" said Scorpius wearily.

Albus looked up, and followed Scorpius's gaze. Baddock was walking toward them, her hair still done up in its elegant bun, though now it was dry, and the light shone off it radiantly, almost seeming to make the air around her more bright.

She walked up and stopped just beside Scorpius. Every pair of eyes in the whole hall was fixed on her and Scorpius, and Albus knew she was enjoying it immensely. He also knew that Scorpius would have been, too, under normal circumstances, but that at the moment, he was probably more worried about the impression Baddock was making.

"Hey, babe," she said, so that everyone nearby could hear her.

"Baddock," ground out Scorpius.

She bent over and whispered in his ear, so that only him and Albus could hear. "This school runs on what it sees, and I know how to use that." She drew back slightly, and kissed Scorpius on the cheek gently, letting her lips linger a good bit longer than necessary.

Finally, she rose up to her full height, and flashed Scorpius a brilliant smile. He glared back at her.

"Ah, you do look _so _adorable when you glare," she said.

"I _never_ look _adorable_," said Scorpius in annoyance. "Dashing, surely. Sexy, very possibly. But adorable is not in my repertoire."

Baddock laughed. "See you around, Malfoy." And with that, she turned and walked away, her considerable hips flicking back and forth. She left quite a few boys gawking in her wake.

"She sure is determined, I'll give her that," said Albus in awe.

Scorpius was watching her go, shaking his head. "Yes, determination is one thing she does not lack, and it may very well be the thing that is the end of me. Well, that and the hair. The universe shouldn't allow anyone to have hair that color, it's just not right."

**Author's Note:**

**Another chapter, I hope you guys liked it! Thanks for everybody who has reviewed so far, and don't forget to keep doing it! ;)**


	12. Rainbow Farting Unicorns

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for the reviews, guys! Every time I see one it gets me excited! =D**

**Anyways, the next chapter! Hope you like it. ;)**

Chapter 12: Rainbow Farting Unicorns

"What now?" asked Albus nervously, playing with the strap of his book bag. They were in the corridor outside of History of Magic, having just finished class.

"How about we go find some Egyptian dancer girls, and have them feed us peeled grapes?" suggested Scorpius, looking off down the crowded hall.

"I hear that Persian dancers are better," said Albus incredulously.

"Persia doesn't exist anymore, it's Iran now, Albus," pointed out Scorpius.

"Oh, whatever, smart stuff. Who eats peeled grapes, anyway?" demanded Albus.

"Really arrogant and self-absorbed people, like me," said Scorpius indifferently.

Albus shook his head. "I've never in my life heard of someone who eats peeled grapes."

"Well, now you have," said Scorpius.

"No I haven't, you've never had peeled grapes."

"I have too."

"No you haven't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Okay, maybe I haven't, but I fully plan to," said Scorpius irritably.

"Of course, what, once you become the Czar of Russia? On second thought," said Albus thoughtfully, "does Russia even have Czars anymore?"

"I don't know, you were the one who brought it up," said Scorpius, still looking down the hall. "Ah, our little redheaded friend has finally recovered. If you can call that recovered, he looks dreadful," said Scorpius dispassionately.

Albus followed Scorpius's gaze. Hugo was pushing through the sea of students toward them. His hair stuck out in every direction, and his eyes were bright and wild. In his haste he accidentally shoved Elizabeth Flint into the wall. Albus saw her shoot Hugo a death glare, before she turned and continued on her way.

When Hugo finally made it to them, he was almost out of breath. "What's happened to me?" he demanded, but a smile was on his face, and his eyes danced.

Albus looked around nervously. People were starting to turn and stare, and were whispering to each other.

Scorpius noticed as well, very few things escaped his sharp eyes. He grabbed Hugo by the shoulder, and started to walk along at a quick stride, dragging Hugo after him.

"Wha-?" began Hugo in confusion.

"Come along, Hugo. We're not speaking here," said Scorpius, his eyes flicking left and right, as if daring the watching students to say something.

Albus caught up to Scorpius. "You realize you're making it a bigger scene than it was?" muttered Albus under his breath.

"Oh, yes," said Scorpius, his eyes dancing. "You do know how I love big scenes, especially when I'm the center of them."

"Oh, boy, do I," said Albus. "It's often occurred to me, how some people make scenes, but you make three-act plays."

"Aptly put, I don't know if I could have described myself better. Very nice, Albus," said Scorpius with satisfaction.

Hugo shook Scorpius's hand off of his shoulder, but continued to tromp along beside them. "Will someone tell me what's going on?"

"That's where we're headed, Hugo," said Scorpius with disgust, as if he thought that this was obvious.

"What? The common room?" asked Hugo sarcastically as they stopped in front of the Fat Lady. "You do realize it's hardly the place for privacy at this time of day, don't you?"

Scorpius shook his head. "You're lack of imagination never ceases to amaze me, Hugo. _Periwinkle._" The portrait hole swung open obligingly.

Scorpius shoved Hugo in, before clambering in himself. Albus followed.

"I don't like being manhandled!" snapped Hugo. A smile spread across Scorpius's face, as if there was an inside joke involved, or a pleasant memory.

"Well, we're not finished with it yet, so don't get comfortable," said Scorpius brightly, grabbing Hugo by the back of his robes, and pushing him along.

A group of fourth-year girls looked the boys' way curiously from their seats by the fire.

"Morning," said Scorpius, giving a slight, elegant nod in their direction. They giggled and looked away, blushing.

"Must you do that at a time like this?" asked Albus in exasperation.

"It keeps my mind off things," said Scorpius dismissively. Albus rolled his eyes behind the other boy's back.

They strode along the corridor that held all the boys' dormitories. Coming to the seventh-years' room, Scorpius kicked it open, and pulled Hugo inside. Albus followed, swinging the door shut behind him.

Scorpius flung Hugo onto one of the beds, and then sat down on another one near it. Albus decided to remain standing.

Hugo struggled up so that he was leaning back on his elbows, and not just lying sprawled on his back. He glared at Scorpius from beneath his fiery hair that stuck out in every direction like a crown of flaming thorns.

Scorpius flicked a bit of imaginary dust off his shoulder. "Don't look at me like that, we're not about to go shouting about, advertising every little thing that happens, for the whole school to hear. Hogwarts is terrible when it comes to gossip, terrible," said Scorpius, shaking his head.

"And you don't exactly dissuade it, the way you stomp around," said Albus, shooting Scorpius a frustrated look, which the other boy pointedly ignored.

"So, what's happened to me?" demanded Hugo.

"How do you feel?" asked Scorpius curiously, leaning forward and gazing at Hugo intently.

"I feel great, amazing, really. I feel...powerful. As if the whole future is at my fingertips. But I have no clue what's going on- why I feel so great, why I seemed to have slept late, and right through class, too."

"What do you remember from last night?"

"Nothing really, the last thing that I can picture with any clarity was drinking those confounded Dragon Breaths."

Scorpius sighed, and looked at Albus. "Do you think we should tell him?" asked Scorpius ruefully. "It's bound to bloat his already considerable impression of himself."

Albus shrugged. "He'll find out eventually. And as for having a big head, you can hardly talk. I bet he gets it from you," accused Albus.

"Does not," said Scorpius, affronted.

"Oh, really?" Albus raised his eyebrows. "I bet he gets his playboy tendencies from you, too."

Scorpius shook his head. "I won't take responsibility for his dabblings with the other sex."

"Can we please get back to the matter at hand?" asked Hugo, clearly annoyed that they were talking about him as if he wasn't in the room.

"First things first," said Scorpius. "Take off your shirt."

**. . . . . .**

Lily peered through the portrait hole. "Shoot, there's a group of fourth-years," she said, stomping her foot.

"So?"

"Well, it's against the rules for students to enter a common room that isn't theirs," said Lily matter-of-factly.

"Ah, who cares? They won't cause trouble," said Monique, brushing past Lily and hauling herself through the portrait hole.

Lily hesitated, then followed her friend.

They managed to make it halfway to the stairway, before one of the fourth-years noticed them.

"Hey, what's a Hufflepuff doing in here?" demanded a girl, standing to her feet.

"She's with me, is there a problem with that?" asked Monique, turning toward the girl, and shaking her silver hair back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, it's against the rules," snapped the girl.

"And no one has to know about, do they?" said Monique, walking up to the girl and glaring down at her.

The girl shrunk back a little, clearly intimidated by Monique being older, and having superior size.

"Good," said Monique with satisfaction. "And if anybody _does_ hear about it, I'll know who to blame."

Monique turned, and headed up the staircase to the boys' dormitories. Lily followed her.

"Hey! That's against the rules, too!" cried the girl.

"And if you mention rules again, I'll break a few more by hexing you all the way into summer," snapped Monique, shooting the girl a glare worthy of a Slytherin.

Monique and Lily continued on their way, and there were no more objections from the fourth-year.

They slunk along the corridor, being as quiet as they could. Lily went to the fifth-years' dorm, and put her ear to it, but there was no sound from inside, so she crept along to the seventh-years' room.

She could hear dialogue from inside, so she beckoned for Monique to join her. Together, the two of them cocked their heads, and listened intently.

"No, I won't. What's the matter with you?" It was Hugo. At the sound of his voice, Monique tensed slightly.

"Just do it," demanded Scorpius's voice.

"Go boil your head, I'm not queer!" yelled Hugo.

"Stop being a prat, Hugo. If you won't, I will."

"I think he's serious, Hugo, you should listen to him." It was Albus this time, sounding faintly amused.

"I see, Rose dumped you, and now you've gone queer. And Albus, being the good friend he is, is supporting you!" Hugo's voice was accusatory. "Well, I'm not, and I won't have any part of it. You hear me? I won't, I won't!" Hugo's voice was getting slightly more distant, as if he was backing toward the far side of the room.

"Oh, Merlin! You're an idiot, Hugo. I'm not queer. Now take your stupid shirt off!" Scorpius voice was getting rather exasperated.

"Get away from me!"

"Come here!"

"No, get away! Ah! _Geroffffomeee!_"

There was the sound of a crash from inside the room. It was followed by two consecutive, loud thumps.

"Ah! Help me! Rape, _Rape!_"

Monique shifted her position slightly, and accidentally stepped on Lily's toe.

"Ow!" gasped Lily, before she could help it.

There was immediate silence from within the room, followed by footsteps.

Lily and Monique turned and started to struggle away from the door, hindered by the narrow corridor. But it was too late, the door swung open, revealing Albus.

He was framed by the light pouring from the room behind him, and a bemused expression written all over his face.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked.

"What is it, Albus?" came Scorpius's voice from somewhere behind Albus's body.

"You might as well come in, I guess," said Albus to the frozen figures of Lily and Monique. He turned and re-entered the room. "It's Lily, and Monique is with her," he said, addressing Scorpius this time.

Lily shrugged at Monique, and followed her brother.

Near the far end of the circular, medium-sized dorm room was Scorpius and Hugo. A dresser lay knocked over by them, and Hugo lay on the ground, with Scorpius straddling his waist. Scorpius had the younger boy's arms pinned to the floor above his head with one hand, and had the other in the middle of the act of taking the redhead's shirt off.

"The tart?" asked Scorpius, looking up and raising an eyebrow.

"What the hell?" said Hugo, staring up in surprise at the two girls.

"May I ask what's going on?" asked Lily, mild curiosity coloring her voice.

"No wonder Hugo dumped me. I must admit, it never crossed my mind that my main defect was that I'm entirely the wrong sex for him," said Monique.

"Hugo doesn't really surprise me...but Scorpius, I never suspected you," said Lily, smirking slightly.

"Oh, shuttup," said Scorpius. "This isn't what it looks like."

"Oh? And what is it then?" asked Lily.

"I'm just trying to get the prat to get his shirt off. If he wasn't being so bloody difficult this wouldn't be needed," snapped Scorpius in irritation.

"And the fact that you're trying to get my cousin's shirt off is supposed to console me?" asked Lily, resting her cheek on her fist thoughtfully.

Albus looked like he was trying very hard not to laugh. Scorpius glared at him. "Why'd you let them in?"

Albus shrugged. "I couldn't help it, you set yourself up too well."

"Get off of _me_!" bellowed Hugo.

"Be quiet," said Scorpius, scowling. However, he obliged a moment later.

Hugo struggled to his feet, looking non too happy, and straightening his shirt out.

Scorpius leaned against one of the posts of the nearest bed, and crossed his arms. "Okay, first off, what is Lily doing in Gryffindor Tower? Second, why are the two of you in the boys' section? And third, what in Merlin's name are you doing eavesdropping on us?"

"Well, that's simple," said Lily. "The answer to all of them is the same: we want to know what's going on."

"What's going on?" asked Scorpius blankly.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about," said Lily.

"No I don't," said Scorpius stubbornly.

"I think we _all_ want to know," said Hugo, sitting down on a bed.

"Well, what _I _want to be enlightened about, is how you even know that there _are_ things going on?" shot Scorpius at Lily.

Lily shrugged. "It just so happened that we went out for a short flight last night, and we saw you returning to the castle."

"My luck," muttered Scorpius under his breath. "Well, it's about Hugo, so he has the right to know. But it doesn't concern you, girls, so you should just bugger off."

"If Hugo doesn't mind us listening in, then I don't see why it should bother you," said Lily.

Scorpius opened his mouth to make some snide comment, but Hugo was faster. "Yeah, I guess I don't mind."

Scorpius looked at Hugo as if he was crazy. "I don't think you would say that if you knew what it was," he said.

Hugo shrugged. "Something that makes me feel so great doesn't seem to me like it'll be something that I'd mind other people knowing."

Scorpius sighed, and looked at Albus once, before plunging into the story. He started at the part where Albus and Hugo found him lying in the alley. He went from there and talked about the bar, the musicians, and how the three of them got drunk together. Then he related what happened to Hugo outside, the two old men in the green suites, and all that they had told him. He finished up with arriving back at the front door of the school.

There was silence for a few moments after he finished talking.

"Amazing," sighed Hugo, eventually. He looked up at Scorpius with bright eyes. "Who'd ever think I was a Diviner? This is great."

Scorpius let out a bark of laughter. " I'm sure it's not going to all be singing butterflies and rainbow farting unicorns."

"I can take it," said Hugo confidently.

Albus rolled his eyes. "Don't get a big head."

"What's this about climactic events, then?" asked Monique. "Does that mean something big is coming?"

"That is the general impression," drawled Scorpius.

"Well, what are we supposed to do about that? Should we tell someone? The Headmistress, maybe?" demanded Monique.

Scorpius shrugged. "Why does everyone look to me for answers? It's not my problem. I told you guys, now it's on your shoulders. You especially, Hugo, seeing as it's you who's the actual Diviner."

"Well, what should I do?" asked Hugo.

"I don't know, and I don't care. I'm not your mother, I don't make your decisions for you," said Scorpius.

Albus's brow was furrowed in deep thought. "I think you should probably tell Aunt Hermione. These things are too big for us. Besides, she'll know what to-" he was cut off as Lily, letting out a little choked cry, grabbed a nearby bed stand and knocked it over. The clock which had been sitting on it hit the floor with the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood.

Everyone in the room stared at her with wide eyes that were filled with surprise. Lily's own dark eyes were locked on the knocked over bed stand. Finally, throwing up her arms, and letting out another strangled noise, she turned on her heel and fled the room.

There was a moment of silence as everybody watched where Lily had disappeared through the door.

Once again, it was Hugo who broke the silence. "She's been awfully, unexpectedly moody the last few days, hasn't she?" he asked of no one in particular.

Monique turned to go after her, but a hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. She looked up in surprise to see Scorpius's intent blue eyes on her face.

"I'll go," he said.

"I don't think—" began Monique.

Scorpius shook his head to silence her. "Let me. Please, trust me," he said.

"I should be the one, I'm her brother," said Albus from behind them.

"And I'm the only girl here, so clearly, it should be me," snapped Monique.

"Maybe I should go, I've known her my whole life..." said Hugo, though his voice was filled with doubt.

"No!" was the combined and immediate response. Hugo scowled.

Monique started forward, but Scorpius pulled her back. "Get your hand off of me," she half-snarled. "You have no right, I'm her _friend_." She packed as much meaning as possible into that one word. It said very clearly that neither Hugo, nor Albus, nor Scorpius could be considered Lily's friend, because the way they treated her.

Scorpius actually took a step back, surprise mixed with something else - realization maybe - written on his face. It was brief, and the next instant an expression of cold indifference was the only thing visible.

Monique looked past him to Albus, whose face was a picture of pain. She actually felt bad for him for a moment, for what she had said.

Her eyes slid past Albus to Hugo, who merely looked astonished.

She started to leave again, but once more Scorpius stopped her. This time he stepped in front of her, and grabbed her by the wrist. He lowered his face to her ear, so that only she could hear him.

"If Lily doesn't consider me her friend, then why don't you let me make it up to her?"

"How do you know it's not you that she's upset at?" hissed Monique.

Once more Scorpius pulled back slightly in surprise. He looked at her intently, and then said softly, "If that's the case, all the more reason it should be me."

"Fine," said Monique stubbornly. "Then go, but if you hurt her, or make me regret this in the slightest, you'll be _very _sorry you volunteered."

Scorpius laughed. Turning slowly, he strode gracefully from the room.

**Author's Note:**

**You got to love singing butterflies and rainbow farting unicorns! And peeled grapes of course, don't forget peeled grapes. =D**

**Review!**


	13. Truth is Beauty

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks to all you consistent reviewers! "TheUltimateReader", "ctc", "Ali256", "JessicaAmal", and "WingsofGold"! It really makes my day to see those reviews! =)**

**This is slightly longer than my previous chapters, but there was no way to end at a reasonable length. It had to be either longer, or shorter than normal. I went with longer.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 13: Truth is Beauty

It took the searching of several empty classrooms before he found her. She was sitting on a desk, her legs hanging over onto the chair. Her back was to the door, and her head was bowed.

He slipped into the room silently, and closed it behind him, but not all the way for fear that the bolt clicking home would alert her to his presence.

Moving as silently and gracefully as a cat, he slipped to one side of the room. Sitting down on the velvet cushions that lay on a bench in one of the windowed alcoves, he rested his back against the wall, propping one foot up on the seat, and letting the other hang carelessly over the side.

"They say moping about, alone in dark classrooms, is bad for one's health."

Lily whirled, eyes flying wide. Scorpius was leaning against the side of an alcove beneath one of the windows, looking as if he had been there since the beginning of time. He was carelessly picking at some dirt beneath one of his fingernails, a thoughtful expression on his face. The stain glass turned the light that spilled over him to gold and scarlet, Gryffindor colors.

"What are you doing here?" she asked stiffly.

He cocked his head to the side, and looked at her, not saying anything. The silence seemed to stretch out between them, almost visible.

"Well?" she demanded, at last.

"I'm trying to figure you out," he said.

Lily forced a laugh. "Good luck with that, I can't even figure myself out sometimes."

"That's what friends are for," said Scorpius. "To know us even better than we know ourselves."

"Oh? I didn't realize we _were _friends," said Lily, almost bitterly.

Scorpius looked slightly taken aback. "I always assumed we were," he said softly.

"To be someone's friend you have to spend time with them," said Lily.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The only people you spend time with are Albus and Ro-" Lily hastily broke off, noticing the tightness that suddenly appeared around Scorpius's eyes.

"Yeah, well, not Rose so much anymore," he said, his eyes falling downwards. "No, not Rose so much anymore..." he said softly, trailing off.

Lily took advantage of his clear distraction to look at him closely. His soft hair, that needed cutting, was starting to hang in his eyes, and looked so fine and silky. His long eyelashes lay against his ridiculously high cheekbones when he closed his lids. His sharp and pointy facial features screamed Scorpius.

His blue orbs snapped up and locked on her, catching her staring at him. She looked away quickly, blushing furiously and hoping that Scorpius couldn't see it in the dimness of the room. The only light came in through the stain glass windows, which altered the color, and weaned the brightness down.

"What happened in there?" asked Scorpius. "I thought you wanted to know about last night."

"I did," said Lily nervously, still not looking at him.

"Well?" asked Scorpius.

"I- just- I-" Lily swallowed, hard.

"Merlin, look at me, please!" said Scorpius. He moved quickly, swinging off of the bench, and coming over to her. He stepped directly into her line of sight, rather pointedly.

She averted her gaze back to straight ahead of her. Making a sound that sounded something like _gah _in his throat, Scorpius moved to being right in front of her.

Still trying desperately to not look at his eyes, she cast her own downward, but it was no use. Pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger, he drew her chin up, till she was staring straight into his face.

"Now, this is better," said Scorpius, smiling.

Lily sucked in her breath. She had never been so close to Scorpius before, and it was disconcerting. If anything, his features were all the more breathtaking and perfect up close. His smile, which so rarely was actually genuine, was wide and reached all the way to his eyes. And his eyes, those _eyes_, so _blue_, you felt lost in them. It wasn't fair, thought Lily. It wasn't fair that anyone could look like that.

"You were saying," said Scorpius.

Lily tried desperately to get her wits about her. "I don't know, was I saying?"

"I think you were, or even if you weren't, you were about to," said Scorpius, his eyebrows raising.

Steeling her will, Lily spun away from him, jerking her chin out of his hand. She stifled a smile as she felt him take a step back in surprise.

"Lily, Merlin's sake," said Scorpius from behind her in frustration. "I'm trying to _understand_."

"What if you can't?" she demanded.

"I can," said Scorpius from between gritted teeth, staring at the back of Lily's fiery head.

"Even if that's so, what makes you think I want you to?"

Scorpius was silent for a few moments. He lifted his hand up before his face, merely watching the shadows that played across his palm, throwing a pattern of spider-like webs.

"Then what can I do?" he asked softly. He returned to his bench, sprawling himself across it, his back leaning against the stone frame of the alcove.

Lily turned to face him, but he was staring up at the image created by the stain glass above him. It was of a tall, built and muscled man with a large beard. He wore gold and scarlet robes, and in his hand was a sword that was studded all over with rubies. Godric Gryffindor.

"I wonder what he was like?" whispered Scorpius to himself. He said it so quietly, that Lily almost didn't hear it.

Lily shrugged, even though Scorpius wasn't looking at her, and she doubted the question was addressed to her. "Brave, courageous, all those things that you perfect Gryffindors are meant to be," she said, a slight tone of bitterness in her voice.

Scorpius looked at her. "I highly doubt any of us are perfect," he said.

"What about you? Everyone sure seems to think you are," Lily said.

His eyes locked with hers. "I'm very, very far from being perfect. I disgust myself, really. There's nothing good in me, nothing." His tone was emotionless, flat.

"That's not true—" began Lily.

He held up his hand to silence her. "Please, don't. You can't see inside my head, can't see the thoughts that I linger on. Nobody can, except me."

"Albus-"

"Wouldn't even want to have anything to do with me, if he knew the half of it," said Scorpius, his eyes going blank. "Albus," he said, turning his eyes to the stone of the alcove in front of him. "Albus, there's someone who's as close to perfect as any of us can get."

"Albus is not-"

"Kind, caring, thoughtful."

"No more than-"

"Brave, insightful, courageous." Scorpius shook his head. He looked back up at Lily, his eyes _very _blue. "His friendship is the best gift anyone could get. I wish I deserved it."

They stared at each other for a couple of moments.

"Do you think that beauty is truth, or truth, beauty?" asked Lily suddenly.

Scorpius didn't look at all surprised by this question, that seemed to come from nowhere. He didn't even hesitate in his answer. "Truth is beauty, and beauty is _anything _but truth."

Lily looked quite startled by his answer. "Really?" she asked doubtfully.

"Oh yes," said Scorpius, watching her intently. "Truth is so rare, that it is like the diamond in the rough. As for beauty," he paused for a moment, looking almost wistful, "beauty almost always merely covers up that which we don't want to see. It's like the polished apple, which hides a rotten core."

Lily wanted so bad to talk to him, to tell him everything. Here he was, talking to her about himself, opening himself up- as much as he ever did, anyways. But she couldn't, she couldn't explain to anyone, most of all him.

He was running his fingers along the edge of the velvet cushions thoughtfully, once more not looking at her. Suddenly, his hand closed into a tight fist. His jaw clenched, and he grew very still.

Lily's eyes widened as she watched him in concern.

_Crack_!

The sound of shattering glass filled the room. Scorpius pulled his fist back out of the stain glass window, blood oozing down his hand in thick streams, multicolored bits of glass sticking painfully out of his skin at sharp angles.

Lily gasped, leaping off the desk she sat on, and running over to him and falling to her knees beside the bench.

"What did you do that for?" she demanded, taking his bleeding hand in both of hers.

Scorpius looked down at her in surprise, as if he had forgotten she was there. "Sorry," he muttered.

Lily laughed softly. "You're pouring blood, and you're apologizing?"

"Well, I wouldn't be if I hadn't punched the stupid window," Scorpius pointed out.

"And why did you have to break the poor stain glass? What did Godric ever do to you, huh?" asked Lily, turning his hand carefully in hers, inspecting how badly injured it was.

Scorpius watched her with a bemused expression. "I guess my inner teenage angst just suddenly broke forth."

Lily jerked a particularly large shard out of his palm. Scorpius let out a howl of pain.

"What are you doing? Trying to kill me?" demanded Scorpius.

"Just helping you out," said Lily cheerily, giving another piece a good pull.

Scorpius let out another yell, and then gave Lily an injured look.

"Don't give me that," said Lily, catching sight of it as she glanced upward. "You shouldn't have done something so stupid."

Scorpius shook his head, as Lily continued with her work. Taking out his wand with his free hand, he fixed the window with a quick _reparo_.

Putting his wand back into his pocket, he looked down at Lily's head which was bowed over her work. He watched with faint amusement as her long hair fell down over her face, and she shook it back with a quick jerk of her head in annoyance, only for it to happen again a few moments later.

After several rounds of this, she let out a loud exclamation of irritation, and took one of her hands away from Scorpius's, to push it back.

"Wait, I got it," said Scorpius, catching up her hair with his free hand, and holding it back at the base of her neck.

She gave him a quick look of gratefulness, before turning her face back down in concentration.

Lily continued to work on in silence, and Scorpius was content to merely watch her. After a few moments, he realized with a start, that he been admiring the creamy color of her skin, and the gentle curve of where her neck joined her shoulders.

He looked away hastily, becoming very interested in the velvet of the cushions.

"All finished, except that it's still cut up, of course, but at least it doesn't have anymore glass stuck in it," said Lily cheerily, looking up at him and smiling.

Scorpius drew his hand back, out of hers, and curled it into a fist, and then uncurled it again. He winced slightly in pain, but it wasn't that bad.

"Nice job," said Scorpius, with admiration. Lily felt a little bit of warmth flood to her cheeks- Scorpius rarely complimented people. "You must have quite steady hands," he said.

"Well, I don't know about that," said Lily. She noticed, rather pleasantly, that he was still clasping her hair at the nape of her neck.

His hand which was still bleeding lightly, slid forward and took one of hers. His long, slender fingers –artist fingers, or a pianist's maybe– lightly curled around hers.

Her eyes, which had been following his hands until then, shot up to his face. He was watching her intently, his blue eyes as deep and ongoing as a storm. Her lips parted slightly, as she tried to think of something to say, but nothing came immediately to mind.

She felt his fingers brush down her forearm to her elbow, so lightly it was almost nonexistent.

"Scorpius?" she said questioningly.

His eyes were now thoughtful, still resting on hers. When he said her name, it was soft, almost like a caress. "Lily-"

"Well, well, what do we have here? Malfoy not content with just one from that filthy mix of Weasleys and Potters, he has to have them all, doesn't he?" said a voice that was as slippery as snake's skin.

Lily whirled, and Scorpius's head snapped up. There, just inside the doorway to the classroom, stood Zabini and Bulstrode.

Scorpius cursed himself inwardly for not having heard them coming, but then again, thought Scorpius ruefully, he had been rather distracted.

"We've been waiting for a chance to finish our little, ah, encounter from the other day," continued Zabini. "And what do you know? Here we are, just walking through the castle, looking for some poor first-years to hang upside down by their trousers, when we hear cries of pain. We follow the sound of these cries to a classroom, and what do we find? Malfoy, and Potter's little redheaded brat of a sister. Oh, happy day," said Zabini.

Scorpius rose slowly to his feet, and rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes wearily. "Do we really have to do this, right now?" he asked.

"Oh yes," said Zabini, a dark flash of amusement in his eye as he kicked the door to the room shut behind him.

Scorpius sighed, as Lily stood up beside him. He shot her a woeful look. "What do I do to always get myself into these things?" he asked.

"You don't have to do anything, except for walk and breath," pointed out Lily wryly.

"I guess that's true," said Scorpius, looking thoughtfully at his shoe.

His wand whipped out so fast it was a blur, but unfortunately, Zabini was waiting for just that.

"_Expelliarmus!_"

Scorpius looked ruefully after his wand as it flew across the classroom and clattered to the floor at Zabini's feet. He shrugged. "Well, there goes all chance of avoiding a mess. Oh well, it was worth a try."

Zabini smirked at him. "Don't worry, we'll fight fair. We won't use our wands, now that you're unarmed."

"Fair?" echoed Scorpius. "I don't think you know the meaning of that word. In case you didn't notice, there are two of you, and one of me."

"Hm, too true," said Zabini. "What do we do about that?"

"What about me? It's an even fight, two against two," said Lily, annoyed.

"You don't count," snapped Zabini and Scorpius at the same time.

"Fine," pouted Lily.

"Well, I guess there's nothing to be done about the odds, Malfoy. After all, we are Slytherins, fair isn't really in our vocabulary."

"I figured as much," muttered Scorpius.

He picked up one of the velvet cushions from the bench. "Do you like velvet, Bulstrode?" he asked.

Bulstrode looked at Scorpius in confusion. "Velvet?" he repeated stupidly.

"Yes, velvet, you idiot," snapped Scorpius.

Bulstrode's piggy eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you trying to make me look dumb?"

Scorpius sighed in exasperation. "Believe me, Bulstrode, nobody has to try to do that."

Bulstrode snarled angrily, and charged Scorpius.

Just as Bulstrode was almost upon him, Scorpius shoved Lily to the side, threw the cushion into Bulstrode's face, and sidestepped neatly. Bulstrode's considerable mass had all his momentum going in one direction, and he was unable to change it abruptly enough to help himself; he flew head first into the windowed alcove, shattering the stain glass.

"Poor Godric," said Scorpius, looking at Bulstrode's rear end with interest, "it's not his day, is it?"

Bulstrode groaned and started to pull back from the alcove, clutching at his head. He was clearly disoriented, and in pain.

Scorpius leapt astride Bulstrode's bent back, and started to hit the back of the large boy's head as hard as he could.

Bulstrode swayed, but stayed standing. Reaching back over his head with both hands, he grabbed Scorpius by the front of his robes, and brought the blonde boy crashing down over his head onto the bench. It trembled with the impact, but held.

Scorpius wriggled to try and get free, but Bulstrode's grip was tight. The Slytherin drew the blonde boy up, and threw Scorpius from him. Scorpius hit the ground with enough impact to make his teeth snap together painfully. He slid on the smooth tile, and fetched up against the clawed legs of a desk.

He saw Lily go for her wand, but Zabini disarmed her of it easily. Yelling, she rushed up to the tall Slytherin, and punched him in the jaw. It must have been pretty hard, because Zabini took a step back, his hand flying up to his face, as he blinked several times in surprise.

Lily swung her fist at him once more, but his hand that did not hold his wand whipped up, snatching her wrist right out of the air. He twisted it brutally around and behind her back, so that she was facing away from him, unable to move without bringing shocks of pain up her arm.

Scorpius saw Zabini jerk Lily back up against him, and whisper something in her ear. Lily snarled and jerked, kicking out behind her. Her foot connected with Zabini's shin, and he stepped back, swearing.

She turned and tried to punch him once more. He was faster.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_"

Lily's limbs snapped together, and she peeled over backward silently.

Scorpius scrambled to his feet, but Bulstrode was already running at him, resembling a charging bull from one of those Spanish fights.

Scorpius sidestepped once more, hitting Bulstrode in the side of the face. The Slytherin was sent spinning off course, and crashing into two desks, which promptly overturned and shattered as the heavy boy landed fully on them.

Scorpius pulled his foot back to land a kick, but was grabbed from behind by Zabini. Zabini hauled Scorpius up, and sent him somersaulting over the nearest desk. Scorpius's head hit the side of a chair as he fell to the floor, the sudden pain of which sent black spots dancing across his vision.

Zabini leapt lightly over the desk and landed, with his feet spread, above Scorpius. Bending his knees, so that he was practically sitting on Scorpius's chest, he drew a knife from within his robes.

The first thought that struck Scorpius, was that the dagger was beautiful. Its blade gleamed like cold steel, and its handle was plain black, with a single emerald the size of an almond set in the pommel.

The second thing that struck Scorpius, was that he was likely to be gutted if he lay around much longer.

Heaving himself up with all his might, he pushed Zabini back and off of him. Zabini overbalanced and fell back into the desk.

He leapt to his feet just in time to have Bulstrode slam into him and bear him to the ground.

Scorpius struggled, but Bulstrode was just to heavy for him.

The big Slytherin boy shook with laughter, as he held Scorpius pinned to the ground. "I got him, Zabini, he's not going anywhere."

Scorpius snarled, drew his head back, and slammed it forward into Bulstrode's. However, this only made Scorpius's head ring all that much louder.

Bulstrode stared at Scorpius dumbly. "What were you trying to do?" he asked.

"Gah, nothing, Bulstrode, continue as you were," said Scorpius bleakly, wondering if it was a good sign that he was starting to see doubles of everything.

Zabini came over, and bent down beside them. In his hand glittered the knife. "I'm going to give you something to remember us by," said Zabini with a smirk.

"You're not going to rape me, are you?" asked Scorpius mildly.

Zabini looked like he had been bludgeoned over the head with a stone club. "Rape you?" he echoed.

"You do know what rape is, don't you, Zabini?" asked Scorpius with wide, innocent eyes.

"Oh, shuddup, Malfoy," spat Zabini. He pressed the blade of the dagger to Scorpius's cheek. It felt like ice on his skin.

"What the hell are you doing, Zabini?" growled Scorpius.

"I'm marring your pretty face, forever," said Zabini gleefully.

"Why does it have to be the face?" asked Scorpius mournfully, of no one in particular.

Zabini drew the knife back with one swift, smooth motion.

It was a very curious sensation that Scorpius felt. It wasn't the physical pain he had expected, per se. It was more like it caused such an intense coldness, that it caused pain, but that was not from the splitting of skin. It seared across his cheek, and shot through his whole body. It clutched at his heart, giving it a thumping jolt. He was fairly sure that if he had been over fifty, he would have had a heart attack right then and there.

He could feel the blood oozing from the cut, but it wasn't warm as fresh blood usually was; it was as ice cold as if it had just been taken directly from a freezer and poured over his face.

"_What_ is going on here?" demanded a voice from the doorway.

All three of their heads snapped toward the door. Scorpius was fairly sure Lily's would have too, but she was still in a body bind.

Babcock stood framed in the doorway. His eyes seemed almost on fire, and there were bright red spots of anger high up on his cheeks.

"We're just teaching Malfoy a lesson," said Zabini.

"You are such an _idiot_," snarled Babcock. His hair seemed to be standing almost on end with his livid fury.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Zabini.

"I would have expected this of Bulstrode, but not you, Zabini," said Babcock, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Babcock-"

"Get _over _here, this _instant_," roared Babcock.

Bulstrode and Zabini obeyed, looking rather like whipped dogs returning to their master.

Babcock immediately snatched the knife away from Zabini, and hid it in his robes. "God, you are such a retard," he said. Zabini glared at him, but didn't say anything. "I can't believe you two went against one person, _and _you guys had a weapon. We may be Slytherins, and we don't fight fair, but this is just..." He shook his head again. "I mean, there is such a thing as Slytherin pride."

He shoved Bulstrode and Zabini outside the door, but then turned back.

Scorpius was on his feet, and was helping Lily to hers, after having unfroze her from the spell.

"And a girl was involved too," muttered Babcock under his breath. "Sorry about the face, Malfoy, it's not going to heal easily."

"Oh, why's that?" asked Scorpius coldly.

Babcock shrugged, turned, and swept from the room, giving no explanation whatsoever.

**Author's Note:**

**What do you think? Do you agree with Scorpius? Is truth beauty? Or is beauty really truth? ;)**


	14. The Scorpion at Last

**Author's Note:**

**Thanks for everyone who reviewed!**

**Oh, and to all my readers, I have a confession. When I wrote the chapter entitled "Tapioca Pudding," I had at that time never actually had any. =S But just like half a week later, I went to this party, and I heard someone say, "Oh my gosh, it's tapioca pudding!" I was like, it's a sign. =] And so now, I have officially had tapioca pudding! =D**

Chapter 14: The Scorpion at Last

"Are you okay?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Scorpius, wiping the blood away from his face. The spot on his cheek where the slice was located still felt very, very cold, but other than that, his body had returned to normal. "There's something weird about this cut," he said absentmindedly, moving his hand up to it, and tracing the edge of it with his fingers. It was like ice beneath his fingers.

"Oh? What's the matter?" asked Lily curiously.

"Oh, nothing I'm sure," said Scorpius, looking down at her and letting his hand drop from his injury. Lily didn't like the way his eyes were distant, and his face masked as he said it.

"We should probably get you to the infirmary. You need to get that cut, and those on your hand as well, healed up," suggested Lily.

"Nah, it's too much of a bother, even _if _Madam Pomfrey would agree to it," said Scorpius. "I'll just get Baddock to do it, again."

"Again?" asked Lily neutrally.

"Long story," said Scorpius.

"I have time," said Lily.

"Well, I don't," snapped Scorpius, sweeping from the room.

Lily flinched back in surprise, and stood in the empty classroom for several moments, staring at where Scorpius had disappeared through the door in puzzlement.

At last, she fixed the stain glass image of Godric with a wave of her wand. Giving it one final glance, she followed after Scorpius.

**. . . . . .**

Scorpius stood at the broad entrance to the Great Hall, and blatantly ignored the staring students that passed him.

It was lunch time, and the Great Hall was all but packed. Unfortunately for him, the whole school would notice if he attempted to contact Baddock right then.

_Appearances be damned_, he thought vehemently.

He strode with purpose down the aisle toward where Baddock sat at the Ravenclaw table.

Baddock looked up at him in surprise. "Scorpius, what-"

He grabbed her arm, and pulled her abruptly to her feet. "Hey, darling," he said, his voice practically dripping venom.

Her eyes widened slightly in fear, but then narrowed. "What?" she snapped, shaking his grip off of her.

He pointed to his cheek with his good hand. "I think it would be rather obvious," he hissed. "And my hand, too." He waved his blood-coated palm in front of her face.

"And, why should I?" she demanded.

Scorpius grinned, though it was more like a dangerous flash of teeth. "You wouldn't want my pretty face all scarred up, would you?"

She glared at him. "I'll do it, but only if you _never _do this again. You do _not _just huff in here and jerk me to my feet like this."

"Anything for you, babe," said Scorpius coldly.

Baddock pulled out her wand, and in a couple of moments, had healed Scorpius's hand to being as good as new.

As her wand swept along the cut on his cheek, Scorpius could feel the skin closing up, but the dull chill remained.

"Um, Scorpius," said Baddock, in puzzlement.

"What?" he asked irritably.

"What's up with this cut?"

"Why?"

"It's not healing up like it should. The wound is closed, but there's still a scar. The only reason that would be, is if it was caused by Dark Magic. Where did you get it?"

Scorpius shrugged.

"Scorpius-"

A couple of cheers, and cries, cut off her voice. They both turned in surprise.

Over at the Slytherin table, Rose and Driscoll were locked in a close embrace, and kissing fiercely. At first, Rose looked she was rather shocked, but then she totally abandoned herself into the kiss. There seemed to be no existent space between the two of them; it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Rose's fingers were wrapped in Driscoll's hair, as Driscoll's arms were about her waist.

Scorpius felt an anger so intense that everything he had felt in the past few days was nothing compared to it. White-hot fury coursed through his veins, lighting him on fire. His vision seemed to go awry, so that he could barely see. All he knew was the anger, the possessiveness that screamed through his whole body.

A snarl broke from his throat. Turning, he grabbed a startled Baddock by the front of her robes. Pulling her to him, he brought his lips crashing down on hers with bruising force.

Letting his arms slide around her shoulders, he knotted his hands in her gorgeous red-gold hair. He put everything he had into the kiss, trying to drown himself in her scent, in the feel of her hair beneath his fingers.

Like a surfer being overtaken by a tsunami, Scorpius let himself go under the rushing wave of his twisted and confused emotions.

**. . . . . .**

Albus watched Scorpius head over to Baddock, from his spot at Gryffindor table. Even from this distance he could faintly see the blood that was a scarlet splash on Scorpius's hand and cheek.

He could tell by the way Scorpius jerked Baddock to her feet, and the set of his shoulders, that Scorpius was angry, _very _angry.

Lily walked up and stood just behind him. "Hey, brother," she said.

"Hallo, Lily," he said, looking up at her. "What did you do to poor Scorpius? You could've been a bit nicer, he was just trying to help," said Albus playfully. "You didn't have to bloody him all up."

Lily made a face at him.

Just then, there were audible gasps throughout the room, followed by some wolf whistles, cheers, and cries of horror.

Albus and Lily followed the swiveling of heads in the direction of the Slytherins. They could clearly see Rose and Driscoll, locked together by their lips.

"What in the name of..." trailed off Lily in surprise.

"Oh, dear," said Albus, flipping his gaze back to Scorpius.

Scorpius had gone so still, he almost looked like a mannequin at that distance. A moment passed, and then suddenly Baddock was in his arms, and their faces were glued together at the lips.

There were more cries, some splattered applause, and even some gasps of horror from some of the girl students.

Albus couldn't help but hear Lily's sharp intake of breath from above him, but his eyes stayed fixed on Scorpius and Baddock.

"Yes, er, when Scorpius's emotions get the better of him, all rational thought tends to go out the window," he said.

When there was no reply, he looked up in puzzlement, but Lily was no longer there. She was already tearing through the exit to the Great Hall.

"What is up with her lately?" Albus couldn't help but wonder aloud.

**. . . . . .**

The boy sat on the large chest, in the middle of the room. Late afternoon light poured through the window and pooled on him, lighting the air by sparking off his jet-black hair.

His head was bowed, causing his dark locks to fall forward, shielding his face from view. He was leaned forward, his elbows supporting the weight of his upper body by resting on his knees.

There was the soft sound of parchment landing on tile, and the boy slowly opened his eyes.

On the ground at his feet, as if it had suddenly appeared there from nowhere, lay a rolled up letter, tied with a green and silver ribbon.

Sighing wearily, he bent down and picked it up. He was just sitting there, looking at the untouched message in his hand, when the door banged open.

He sat up hastily, stuffing the missive into his robes, and swiveling to face the door.

Scorpius stood in the doorway. His robes were in slight disarray, and his eyes were bright.

"'Lo, Albus," he drawled, slouching into the classroom, and kicking the door shut behind him. "I was hoping I'd find you in this particular place."

"Hallo, Scorpius," said Albus, watching the other boy warily, as if he were a bomb about to go off. "What brings you here?"

Scorpius looked at him as if he had asked what color was the sun. "I've come to practice the Patronus, you don't think I've forgotten about Azkaban and all, do you?"

"Well, with everything else that's been going on, I wouldn't have blamed you if it'd slipped your mind," said Albus truthfully.

Scorpius looked at Albus as if the other boy had just hit him in the face. "You seriously think that I'd forget?" he asked quietly. "Is that what you think of my loyalty?"

"No," said Albus hastily. "It's just that, well, a lot has been going on. And I know your mind has been on a lot of things."

Scorpius dumped himself in a seat, and looked at the ground. "What have I been doing wrong?" he said so softly, that Albus barely heard the words.

"Anyways," said Scorpius, his gaze coming back up to Albus's face, "you want to practice, or what?"

"Are you sure you're up to it?" asked Albus doubtfully. "I was there at lunch, Scorpius, I know things are-"

"Things are just fine," snapped Scorpius.

Albus blinked at him. "Okay, okay, forget I said anything. By the way, did you find out what was eating at Lily? I noticed she gave you a nice cut, and on your hands as well," said Albus, chuckling a little bit.

"No, she's stubborn, your sister is. But this wasn't from her," said Scorpius, indicating his face. "It was a gift from Zabini and Bulstrode."

"Oh, God, and I wasn't there. I'm sorry," said Albus.

Scorpius shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal, really. They're a bunch of idiots, anyways."

"But why'd it scar?" asked Albus curiously.

"I don't have a clue," said Scorpius, not entirely truthfully. "There must have been some type of curse on the blade."

"What?" said Albus, getting to his feet in concern. "I mean, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Scorpius, waving him away. "It just scarred, it's no big deal."

"Okay," said Albus incredulously.

"Anyways, lets get to it," said Scorpius, rising from his seat, and taking up his position opposite the chest Albus had been sitting on. "I know this has been on _your _mind, seeing as you came to brood in this particular classroom," said Scorpius with a grin.

Albus made a face. "You ready?"

"Oh, yeah," said Scorpius confidently.

Albus undid the clasps on the trunk, and swung the lid open.

The Boggart shot out in the form of a Dementor, sucking all happiness from the room, chilling them to the bone.

Scorpius hefted his wand up, and with a very confident wave of his wand, cried out, "_Expecto Patronum!_"

A little silvery light formed at the end of his wand, and then dissipated almost immediately.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" he bellowed again. Once more, the silvery light issued from his wand, and then vanished in a moment.

Scorpius's face was growing pale, and he took a few steps back.

Albus decided it was time to intervene. Leaping forward, and casting a Patronus before the Boggart had the time to change from the Dementor to an image of Lestraud, Albus beat the Boggart back into the chest. With a wave of his wand, the lid came crashing down.

Albus turned to Scorpius, who was whiter than usual, and sweating slightly. "Drat, we don't have any chocolate on us," he said.

"Doesn't matter," Scorpius replied.

"Well, that was fairly good, you've made progress. You managed to get a little bit of the shield out."

"It's not enough," said Scorpius.

"It doesn't matter, we have time, and you're getting better," consoled Albus.

"_It's not enough_," yelled Scorpius. "Let's do it again," he said.

"Are you sure you're-"

"_Again_!" he roared.

Albus shook his head, but swung the chest open once more.

This time, Scorpius had no degree of success whatsoever, and in no time at all Albus had blasted the Boggart back into the trunk again.

Scorpius's eyes were burning in his pale face. "I don't get what I'm doing wrong," he said angrily.

"I still think it's the memory," said Albus staunchly.

"It's not the-" snapped Scorpius, whirling on Albus. But he stopped, eyes widening as they locked on Albus, as if they were seeing him for the first time.

"Yes. Yes, I think you might be right," said Scorpius thoughtfully, all the while looking at Albus intently.

"Will you stop watching me like that?" asked Albus, shifting from foot to foot. "It's making me nervous."

"Again," said Scorpius, taking up his position.

"Right now? You sure you don't want a couple moments rest?"

"Yes, _right now_, I think I've got it this time, I really do."

"Okay," said Albus, deciding that it was better not to object anymore.

The chest was swung open a third time.

The Boggart, in Dementor form, floated up in front of them. Its breath rattled from the hood, like it was being let out through bones older than time itself.

The now-familiar chill and despair swept through the room.

For the first few moments, Scorpius did nothing, but stood motionless staring back at the Boggart.

Albus grew worried, and would've stepped in, but it was just then that Scorpius raised his wand.

"_Expecto Patronum_," said Scorpius, each syllable dropping from his tongue like a brick from a worker's hand.

A massive silver shape blasted from the tip of his wand. Warm, radiating heat washed through the room, bringing happiness and joy with it.

A large, shining scorpion stood between Scorpius and the Boggart. It was the one of the biggest, and most powerful Patronus that Albus had ever seen, and he gawked in awe.

The scorpion lurched forward, its barbed tail whipping forward and striking the Boggart in the chest. It drove the Boggart back and into the trunk with so much force that the lid slammed down shut.

The scorpion stood tall and looming for a moment, before slowly dissipating, like the morning mist before the sun.

Albus let out a whoop of joy, and punched the air. "What made the huge difference?" he asked, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder.

But Scorpius merely smiled, and didn't answer.

**. . . . . . **

Scorpius slunk through the dark corridors. He moved as silently as a ghost, hugging the sides of the halls, keeping to the darkest shadows. The torches cast long, dancing spider webs of darkness across the cold stone floor from their brackets on the wall.

Scorpius had always detested the dungeons, they were cold, and dank, and hostile.

Scorpius let his mind flow back to earlier that day, when he had cast a full blown Patronus for the very first time, thinking about what had made such a massive difference.

Up until that last Patronus, he had always used a memory that contained Rose. Whether it was the memory of their first kiss, the memory of when he first had feelings for her, or one of countless happy memories with her, they had always failed.

At last, he had realized why this was. Due to all that had happened recently, there were always flaws to the memory. Thoughts of doubt and disappointment never failed to seep in and ruin the happy image in his head.

Finally, after he figured out that a memory with Rose would not work, he had settled on one he had suddenly felt had no chance of failing.

The memory was from Scorpius's first day at Hogwarts. After he had been sorted into Gryffindor, and the feast had finished, he had risen from his seat and filed out of the Great Hall along with the rest of the students. After hearing a voice call his name from behind, he had turned to see Babcock, Zabini, and Bulstrode sneering at him with hateful, disgusted expressions. They had insulted him for being put in Gryffindor until he could no longer stand it, and he had leapt upon them, a fight ensuing.

And that's when Albus had come out of nowhere, joining in the fight. They had both ended up bloody, in the infirmary, and in a load of trouble, but it didn't matter, that whole night they couldn't stop from grinning like mad at each other.

They had been best friends ever since.

The power and happiness of that memory, from when he first met and became friends with Albus, had turned out to be more than even Scorpius had imagined.

Scorpius heard voices from somewhere down the corridor, and threw himself around a corner, just before Babcock and Zabini came around the bend up ahead.

"I still can't believe what an idiot you are," came Babcock's voice.

"Will you cut it out, already?" demanded Zabini. "You've told me I-don't-know-how-many times."

"I'm trying to drill it into your thick skull. What were you thinking? Using the Culling Blade, and on _Malfoy_ of all people. You realize that my fury is nothing compared to what the others' is going to be."

"Yeah, yeah," sulked Zabini.

"A decapitated Muggle is the only good kind of Muggle," said Babcock.

It took Scorpius a second to realize that Babcock was reciting the password to get into the Slytherin common room.

Scorpius chanced a glance around the corner, and saw the tail of Zabini's robe disappearing inside a doorway. The portrait swung shut, revealing the image of a silver candlestick, with a snake winding around and around it.

_Well, clearly, "short and simple" is not in mind when the Slytherins set their password_, thought Scorpius with amusement.

He settled into the shadows, ready to wait for as long as necessary.

It was three quarters of an hour before the other boy came striding down the corridor, his boots clicking softly on the stones.

Scorpius stepped out from his place of concealment, confronting the other boy.

"Malfoy," said the other boy in a clipped tone, void of surprise.

"Driscoll," said Scorpius coolly.

"What are you doing in Slytherin territory, and after dark at that?" asked Driscoll.

"Looking for you, pillock," said Scorpius.

Driscoll's eyes glittered in the dimness. "No need for insults, Malfoy. If you wanted to find me, you need only have looked around. I go to all meals, all classes. It's not hard to locate me."

"I wanted to talk to you, alone," snapped Scorpius.

"Oh? And what reason do we have to _talk_?"

"Scratch that, you're right, I didn't come to talk to you. I came to _tell _you something," said Scorpius, his voice icy cold.

"And what's that? That you're a childish school boy who can't take the loss of his woman elegantly, and desires to make a big fool of himself again, and again?" asked Driscoll, chills rolling through his tone.

Scorpius let out a short bark of laughter that was void of any amusement. "For that to be, I would have had to lose my woman. But I didn't, I know she's not doing this of her own accord. For awhile I assumed there was nothing unnatural about it, that she had simply fallen for you. But you slipped up Driscoll, you blew your cover."

"Oh?" said Driscoll, softly.

"You should have researched your target more, gotten to know her. You see, I happen to know her better than practically anyone else that walks this miserable planet. I know that she would never, _never _kiss someone like that, especially in front of that many people.

"I don't know what you're using, whether it's a Love Potion, or it's the Imperius Curse, but I will find out, Driscoll, I will."

It was Driscoll's turn to laugh, but this time it was genuine laughter, filled to the brim with amusement.

Once he had finished, he looked down at a perplexed Scorpius with dancing eyes. "Do what you wish, Malfoy. If you wish you can go to Professor Patil and ask her to inspect Rose for a Love Potion. Hell, you have my permission to ask the Headmistress to check her for any curse you can imagine. I don't care. I really thought better of you; I thought you would be able to realize when you simply lost a girl's heart. I assumed you would be able to figure out that you didn't know Rose as much as you thought. Clearly, she just wouldn't snog you like she snogs me, because she never had the feelings for you that she has for me. Get lost, Malfoy, I don't have time to waste with the likes of you."

And with that, Driscoll spun on his heel, went up to the portrait of the snake, muttered the password, and disappeared inside.

Scorpius watched him go. He was silent, with a tightly clenched jaw, and two, smoldering, cobalt blue eyes.

**Author's Note:**

**I realize this chapter rushed along from scene to scene in crazy rapid fire, and might not have transitioned smoothly, sorry about that, but it's just kind of how it worked out. =S**

**Don't forget to review!**


	15. Tis Strange

**Author's Note:**

**I know it took longer than normal for me to get this chapter up, but here it is. I've been really busy the last week, or however long it's been. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, here it is.**

Chapter 15: Tis Strange

He leaned on the parapet, letting the chilly night air tug at his dark locks of hair.

The stars were bright, providing enough light for him to see the lake, shining darkly below.

A sudden gust of wind cut through his clothes, giving him the sensation that cold, icy fingers were tracing along his skin.

He shivered, drawing his cloak tighter about him.

"Albus," called a voice softly, from behind him.

He closed his eyes wearily in trepidation.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"What if my answer was you?" said the voice.

Albus kept his eyes shut, his back to the voice. He could feel temptation clutching at him with its inviting, and luring touch.

"Then my reply would be that _I _do not desire _you_," said Albus tightly.

That beautiful, yet deceitful laugh trilled out behind him. That laugh he had come to hate so much.

"You can't even lie to yourself."

It struck Albus as kind of amusing that Lestraud always pointed out the same observations about him that Scorpius did.

"So, why not? You want it, I want it. Your not tied down, so that can't be your reason."

"Maybe because you're _blackmailing me_? Or does that not strike you as good enough?" demanded Albus, still staunchly refusing to turn around and look at her.

She laughed, again. The sound made Albus shiver.

"Hardly. Just give in to your desires. Forget everything for just one night. Forget that we even know each other in the slightest. Give into your instincts."

Albus felt nausea rising in his throat. He was disgusted. Both by what she suggested, and even more so, that he _did _want it. His body was screaming at him to just give in. Every nerve, pulling him, dragging him in her direction. But he wouldn't give in, he _wouldn't_.

Albus felt two arms slip around his waist from behind, and his eyes snapped wide open in horror. His whole body spasmed. He tore her arms off of him, spun around, and shoved her back.

"Get _away _from me." He shuddered, brushing at his cloak, as if he had just been touched by something dirty.

Her face was a pale blotch of whiteness between the darkness of her hair and her cloak. Her arms were crossed, and even in the dimness of the night, he could see her frown.

"Albus, why-"

Albus whipped out his wand, directing it at her chest. "Tell me why you called me up here, or so help me, I'm going to blast you to Kingdom Come." His tone was flat.

"You couldn't kill someone, Albus."

"You I can, want to bet?" he practically snarled.

For a moment she actually looked taken aback by his vehemence.

"I'm going to be there, when you break her out," she said curtly, all business now.

"What?" Albus blinked in surprise.

"I'll be there, when you get into Azkaban."

Albus bit his lip.

"Something the matter?" she asked.

"Then you'll need to know, I'm not doing it by myself. Scorpius is going to be there, I need his help; I can't do it alone."

To Albus's surprise, Lestraud wasn't angry, and didn't even question him for that matter. Instead, she laughed.

"That's kind of poetic, isn't it? You have more class than I gave you credit for, Albus."

"Hah, a compliment," said Albus. "Those are few and far between for the likes of me."

"You can put your wand away," said Lestraud with amusement.

"You try anything again, and you'll regret it," said Albus, sliding the wand into his robes, and leaning back against the parapet. "So what else? What more did you need to tell me?"

For a second, Lestraud actually looked confused. "More?"

"Of course," said Albus impatiently. "You didn't call me up here for something that trivial, did you? You could have written that in the note itself, so there must be more. Come on, spit it out, I'm sick and tired and just want to go to bed."

"There isn't more," said Lestraud simply.

"You're kidding me, right?" said Albus sharply.

"No, why would I do that?" asked Lestraud angrily.

Albus made some quick calculations in his head. Things didn't add up. Lestraud never called him to the tower unless there were several instructions she needed to give him. If it was something as simple as this, she would have just written it in the note.

Albus had a quick flash of insight, and it was so absurd, that he laughed, even under the circumstances.

"What's so funny?" demanded Lestraud.

"You are," he said, starting to control himself. "The fact that you act so tough and bad, blackmailing me, but really, you're just a lonely teenager with no friends."

Lestraud bristled. "You don't have the least idea what you're talking about," she snapped.

But Albus was already leaving the tower, still laughing, and rather manically at that. "Goodbye, Lestraud," he called over his shoulder. "Hope you don't feel to sorry for yourself, maybe you should try making friends with Babcock; I'm sure you two would enjoy each other immensely."

"You asking for it?" snarled Lestraud, but Albus was already gone.

**. . . . . .**

Lily ran her hands through the long grass, plucking an occasional blade, and rolling it between her fingers, before letting it go and watching the breeze carry it away.

"It's getting colder by the day," said Monique, who was leaning back against a tree, her eyes closed.

Hugo made a muffled noise from where he lay face down, his head pillowed on his arms.

Lily shielded her eyes with her hand, as the setting sun burned off the lake like burnished bronze.

"There's something funny going on at this school," said Lily.

Hugo made another indistinguishable noise.

"Oh?" asked Monique.

"People are acting out of character. Weirdly."

"How so?"

Lily shrugged. "Albus and Scorpius are both clearly not as present as usual, they're more subdued than normal. And then of course there's Rose," Lily pointed out.

"Mmmm," said Hugo.

"I don't really know any of them that well, so I can't say," said Monique.

"Come on, Hugo, you know Rose isn't herself lately," said Lily.

Hugo hoisted his face off his arms, just long enough to say, "It's true. I don't know what's up with ditching Scorpius for a sleazeball like Driscoll."

"And then you suddenly becoming a Diviner and all," said Lily, her voice hitching slightly on the word Diviner, but neither of her friends noticed.

"Yeah, I don't know," said Hugo, rolling over and propping himself up on his elbows. "It sure would be nice if I could have a vision or some type of revealing dream. I really don't get how this power works at all, maybe it's just a mistake..." he said, trailing off.

"It's probably just something you can't turn on and off, or at least until you get more used to it," said Monique.

Hugo nodded. "If I really am a Diviner, I suspect you're right."

Monique smiled brilliantly at him.

"_Tis strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel_," quoted Lily softly, under her breath. But Monique wasn't the only person on her mind as she said it.

"What's that, Lily?" asked Hugo.

"Nothing."

She sighed, and got to her feet, stretching her arms. "I just wish we knew what was going on, but Scorpius and Albus would never tell us, and Rose is acting too strange," she said.

"Too true," said Hugo.

"Where are you going?" asked Monique, though she didn't offer to move.

"Dinner's soon," said Lily simply.

"You're right, we should probably starting heading up there," said Hugo, leaping up.

Monique reluctantly rose as well.

The sun was now on the verge of disappearing beneath the edge of the world, and the last streaks of pink and red were fading from the darkening sky.

They started toward the castle, Hugo's hunched shoulders up ahead, Monique and Lily side by side.

Suddenly, Hugo cried out, dropping to his knees, his hands flying to his head.

"Hugo!" Monique fell to the ground beside him. "Are you okay?"

Hugo's eyes were wide and unseeing, and his hands were grabbing at the roots of his hair.

"Lily, get help or something!" yelled Monique, but Lily was just staring in awe.

Hugo was gasping and shaking now, as if he had just run very fast. His shoulders were rocking back and forth, and his mouth was forming unspoken words. He threw himself onto his back, and his teeth gnashed together furiously. His eyes were spinning and rolling in his head now, and his hands were scrabbling at the dirt.

And then it was over, his whole body sagged, as if the life had gone out of him.

"Hugo?" whispered Monique fearfully.

His eyes opened slowly- they were back to their normal state. Hugo pulled himself into a sitting position, licking his lips gingerly. A small bit of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth. He wiped it away with his sleeve.

"Are you okay?" asked Monique.

He nodded. "I just bit the inside of my cheek, is all."

He looked up at Lily, his eyes clear and focused.

"They're going to the prison. Scorpius and Albus are going to break into Azkaban."

**. . . . . .**

"It's no use," muttered Scorpius to himself, surveying Rose from his spot at Gryffindor table. As usual, she was sitting with Driscoll.

Getting around his pride, Scorpius had actually partially taken Driscoll's advice. He had checked for the Imperius Curse by using a counter spell, but there had been no change in Rose's behavior. He had even gotten one of the House Elves, who he was on particularly good terms with, to slip a few drops of a liquid into Rose's pumpkin juice that was supposed to make the drinker turn bright blue in the face if they were under the influence of a Love Potion- but there had been no change in the color of Rose's skin.

Either Driscoll was using some very powerful, very subtle and unknown Love Potion, or he had found some way to make someone go crazy for him that Scorpius knew absolutely nothing about, or, the last option, which Scorpius realized was probably the most likely at this point, yet was unwilling to accept, was that Rose actually _did _like Driscoll much more than she had ever liked him.

"I can have any girl in this whole school, except for the one I actually want," said Scorpius aloud, knowing that no one was close enough to hear him- or so he thought.

"It is an ironic and cruel world," said Albus from behind him, coming around to take a seat by his side.

"That it is," said Scorpius, not thrown off-beat at all. "Sometimes I just tell myself that life is a meaningless lottery of chance, but then I realize that that would mean it was complete luck that I have the looks, wit, and charm that I have. And I refuse to accept that."

"Oh, but then what would it be if it wasn't luck?" accused Albus.

"Well, contrary to popular belief, I think that the universe is fair, and that it realized I would be insanely awesome, so it gave me the gifts I deserved to help me on my way through life."

"That is the most twisted way of looking at life being fair that I could ever imagine," said Albus, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You just don't interpret things the right way, Albus."

"And you do?"

"Of course, like the fact that when the meat goes bad, some one somewhere is messing with you."

"I don't know where you get it," said Albus in disbelief once more.

"It comes from my boundless stock of good lines that pop into my head without a moment's notice."

"Yeah, yeah, I think I've heard it before."

"Our first detention is tomorrow night," said Scorpius, switching topics.

Albus groaned. "On a Saturday night? How is that fair?"

"Ah, but this is one detention I don't think you'll complain about," said Scorpius.

"And why's that?" demanded Albus.

"Because this one involves me and you helping out dear old Professor Longbottom down at the greenhouses."

"No way," said Albus, gawking.

"It just so happens we lucked out," said Scorpius, flicking a bit of imaginary dust off of the table.

"You can say that again."

"Yeah, oh, and I ordered us outfits for the break-in."

"What?" gasped Albus, spluttering pumpkin juice left and right.

"Merlin, that is disgusting," said Scorpius in annoyance, brushing at the new orange stain on his robes.

"What do you mean, outfits?" asked Albus suspiciously.

"If I'm going to be stuck in Azkaban the rest of my life, I want to go down looking impeccable."

"You do realize, no one's going to be around to appreciate it," pointed out Albus.

"I don't care, I want it, and I'll have it," said Scorpius, brandishing his hand in the air.

"You know I won't wear anything of the sort," said Albus.

"Yes, you will."

"No, I won't."

"I'd like to point out that you won't be able to pull this off without me," said Scorpius, poking Albus in the chest with a long finger.

Albus sighed. "What type of outfits are these?"

"You'll have to wait and see," said Scorpius, grinning.

"If it's something ridiculous, I'll kill you."

Scorpius snorted. "My fashion sense is spotless, and you know that."

"True..." said Albus, trailing off.

"Anyways, I'm going to get some fresh air. I'll be back," said Scorpius, getting to his feet.

"Sure, whatever," said Albus.

Scorpius had only been gone a couple of minutes, when Baddock threw herself into the seat across from Albus.

"Where's Scorpius?" she asked.

"Went for some fresh air," said Albus, waving his fork in the general direction of the door to the Great Hall.

"Then I'll wait for him to get back, I guess," she said in annoyance, setting her elbows on the table, and twiddling her thumbs.

"I think he'll be awhile," said Albus, hoping that she would go in search of him; he didn't really want Baddock's company for the entirety of his dinner.

"It's okay, I'll wait," said Baddock, fixing Albus with a gaze that made him shift uncomfortably.

Albus went back to his food, but was finding it increasingly difficult to just eat nonchalantly with Baddock just sitting there, watching him.

"So..." he began, "you and Scorpius, huh?"

"It would seem so," she said.

"Then it looks like you got your wish. Rose lost interest in Scorpius, just in time for you to step in, isn't that right?" Albus had never realized it before, but now that it was said aloud, it did place Baddock at a position of suspicion.

Baddock's eyes narrowed on him. "What are you saying, Albus?" she asked, her tone cold.

"Nothing, Baddock, just merely observing some facts."

"I may do some low things, but I wouldn't try something like that."

Albus waved it away. "So you say," he said.

Baddock's green eyes sparked. "Watch it."

There was a few moments of silence.

"You know, Potter, if you took more care of yourself, you could be almost as good looking as Scorpius. Not quite at that level of course, but you'd be up there, at least," said Baddock.

Albus gawked at her.

"Stop looking at me like that," she snapped. "You're staring at me as if I just asked you to marry me, or something."

Albus closed his mouth with an audible crack.

Baddock shuddered. "Gah, that's bad for your teeth you know."

Albus shook his head. "You and Scorpius are exactly alike."

"I know, aren't we just perfect for each other?"

"If anything, I'd say that's exactly why you guys would never be able to stand each other for long," muttered Albus under his breath.

Fortunately for him, Baddock didn't seem to fully catch this comment, or if she did, she outright ignored it.

Baddock made a huffing noise. "_Where _is Scorpius?" she demanded.

"I told you he-"

"Yes," she said impatiently, "but how long does it take someone to grab some fresh air?"

"Maybe an overgrown leech grabbed his face, and sucked all his good looks away," said Albus stabbing a steak on his plate with delightful vehemence.

"That, would not be funny," said Baddock.

Albus rolled his eyes. "I think it would be quite amusing, and quite good for his ego, as well," said Albus dryly.

"It's bad enough already with that stupid scar on his cheek," said Baddock in annoyance.

"I think it looks kind of cool," offered Albus.

"But what you think doesn't matter," said Baddock.

"Mmmm, good point," said Albus. "Or maybe he had a sudden heart attack, rolled down and into the lake, and drowned."

"You think you're amusing, don't you?" asked Baddock.

"Only mildly so."

"Well, you aren't."

"Thanks for the encouragement, it really boosts my morale."

"You should take lessons from Scorpius, he has wit."

"As if I needed someone to point that out. He does a fairly good job of informing everybody of that."

Baddock rose to her feet. "That's it, I'm tired of waiting for him. I'm going."

"What, right now? We were just becoming so close," said Albus, rather relieved that she was leaving.

"Well, then I guess we'll just have to set apart some time to have another good old heart-to-heart in the future," said Baddock. "Keep well, Potter." She reached over and patted Albus on the head, before turning and leaving.

"Please refrain from doing that," said Albus, slightly annoyed.

Baddock laughed. "You're too much fun, Potter."

Throwing his eyes skyward, Albus grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice, and downed it in one go.

**Author's Note:**

**Well, I hope you liked it. The quote **_**"Tis strange..."**_**is by William Thackeray. Anyways, thanks to the consistent reviewers. But it would also be nice to know what some other people think as well, don't hesitate to review please!**


	16. So, Detention can be Useful

**Author's Note:**

**Woohoo! Thanks for the reviews, people! Each one just fills my little heart with joy. =D So keep at it! Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it as much as the past ones. Tapioca pudding makes another guest appearance in this one, because who doesn't love tapioca? ;) With each chapter, we draw closer and closer to Azkaban! =]**

Chapter 16: So, Detention can be Useful

"So, what do we do?" asked Monique.

Lily drummed her fingers lightly on the table.

Hugo yawned, and leaned back in his chair.

They were sitting in the library, at a table that was snuggled between two large bookshelves.

"Explain to us what it was like, again," said Lily.

"Oh, come on," said Hugo. "I already did."

"Please, Hugo," cajoled Lily.

Hugo sighed, but reluctantly gave in. "It was like a flood of images flashing by my eyes at a very fast pace. Pictures that were there one moment, and gone the next. And, like I said before, they were mostly of Albus and Scorpius at Azkaban, clearly breaking some prisoners out."

Lily nodded. "I don't think we should confront them on it," said Lily.

"What? You can't be serious?" said Monique.

"Look, I know Albus and Scorpius. If they're breaking people out of Azkaban, they'd have a good reason for it."

"Yeah, that's true, but they may need our help. We should ask to go with them," said Hugo.

Lily shook her head. "You know them, especially Scorpius. They'd never let us go along."

"Well, then what do we do?" demanded Hugo. "I'm not just going to sit around. I got a vision for a reason, and I'm not just going to ignore it."

"I never suggested that you should. What we'll do, is this..."

**. . . . . .**

A week passed. The first snow came, and the grounds were covered in a soft blanket of white.

Albus stood on the Quidditch pitch, breathing in the sharp, cold air that seared at his lungs. He threw his head back, and gazed up at the clear, blue sky.

_This could be my last full day of being a free man, of being able to do whatever I want,_ he thought dully.

_I could very easily spend the rest of my life in a bleak, stone prison, surrounded by Dementors_. He shuddered violently at the thought.

_Why am I even doing this? Why don't I have the strength to stand up to Lestraud? _But he knew the answer. It was because it didn't require _his_ strength to refuse her, it required Scorpius's, and he wouldn't willingly put Scorpius through that.

Albus couldn't help but notice the irony. The fact that to try and protect Scorpius, he could end up being the reason that Scorpius never lived his life fully, due to being in Azkaban.

_But this way, at least there's a chance we won't get caught, if however slim, there's the chance. And then it will all be all right, all be all right..._

Taking the broom that was in his hand, he leapt astride it, and took to the air.

He flew back and forth, up and down, around and in circles.

He soared as fast as he could go, one moment flying in a loop way above the ground, the next soaring just inches from the snow, letting his toes dangle and shoot up powdery clouds of icy snow.

Unknown to Albus, Scorpius watched him from the entrance to the stadium. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the frame of the stands.

Scorpius wasn't stupid, he knew that the reason Albus was giving in to Lestraud, was because his friend was protecting him. Or at least thought that he was protecting him. But for the life of him, he couldn't possibly figure out what it was that Albus was hiding from him. What could be so damaging that Albus was willing to risk both their futures?

Scorpius ground his teeth in irritation, he wasn't used to being so stumped for answers, or at least for having some sort of calculated theory, anyways.

But, he figured it wouldn't matter in the end. Tomorrow was the Ministry Official's meeting, and tomorrow they would break into Azkaban. It didn't matter what Albus refused to reveal to him, because he was perfectly confident that they wouldn't get caught. He had way to much faith in both his, and Albus's, abilities.

A week ago they had had their detention with Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses. They had been set to watering different ones of the plants, and trimming them and such. Through this they had been able to find out the location of the Three-Stemmed Pricker, and how they would get a hold of it when the time came.

They were supposed to have another detention with Longbottom this week, at the same time and place- which mean it would be tonight. Their plan was to get Longbottom to let them lock up, but they would actually neglect to do so.

Then all they would have to do, would be to waltz in their tomorrow, grab the plant, whip over to Azkaban, and do their thing.

Scorpius felt like nothing could go wrong. Albus on the other hand couldn't help but see a myriad of potential problems. Well, the two boys never claimed they were alike.

Suddenly, Albus's broom was swaying back and forth in it's flight. He turned downward, and dove to toward the floor. He seemed to have lost control, and he blasted like a bullet, head first into a large snowbank. Snow flew skyward, but no Albus emerged from the bank.

Scorpius started in surprise, and rushed over to where he had seen Albus disappear.

Albus lay half-submerged, his cloak and hair standing out from the spectacular whiteness that surrounded them.

His broom was sticking handle first in the snow, looking rather like some crude scarecrow. It was somehow miraculously unharmed.

Albus wasn't moving.

"Albus, are you alright?" asked Scorpius.

There was a muffled reply.

"What's that? Something about how in the world did you lose control of your broom like that? I was about to ask you that myself," said Scorpius.

Albus drew his face out of the snow. "I said, my face is cold."

"Wow, that's shocking, considering you're lying in a snow bank," said Scorpius sarcastically.

Albus glared at him. "You're such a smart ass."

"That's what they say," said Scorpius, reaching down and pulling Albus out of the snow and to his feet. "So, how did you come to lose control of your broom?"

Albus shrugged. "Wasn't paying attention, I guess."

Scorpius shoved him back into the snow bank.

"What was that for?" spluttered Albus, struggling in his wet and heavy robes to try and get back out.

"Sorry, my hands slipped," said Scorpius with amusement.

"Yeah, right up and into my body," said Albus sarcastically.

"I guess I really need to get better control of my body, don't I?" asked Scorpius of the air, looking thoughtful.

Albus managed to get to his feet once more, only to have Scorpius knock him over once more.

"Stop doing that," snapped Albus irritably.

"Hm... I don't seem to be able to help myself, do I?" asked Scorpius.

Albus promptly pulled out his wand. "_Flipendo!_"

Scorpius was blasted backward and into another pile of snow.

"Not laughing now, are you?" asked Albus with satisfaction.

"I don't recall laughing before," pointed out Scorpius, shaking snow from his blonde hair.

"That makes my line so much less poignant," said Albus in disappointment.

"Your lines are never any good, anyways. So don't worry about it too much."

"You jerk."

"Wow, that makes me feel the pain," said Scorpius, starting to pull himself from the snow.

"_Flipendo!_"

Scorpius found himself more entrenched in his cold prison.

"Okay, I get the point, Albus," said Scorpius dryly. "You can stop that now," he said, struggling to get out from the deep bank.

"Just getting revenge, Scorpius."

"You're not allowed to turn around and directly take what I did to you, and do them to me," complained Scorpius. "That's just lame."

"Oh, whatever. I'm sorry I'm not original enough for you." Albus finally extracted himself, and jerked his broom out as well.

"Help me out, will you?" asked Scorpius, who was floundering in the snow.

"Nah, I don't think I will," said Albus gleefully.

Scorpius growled something indistinctly, but took out his wand and melted the snow around him.

"Now I'm all wet," complained Scorpius.

"Well, it was your own fault, so there," Albus said.

"I love how sympathetic you are," said Scorpius.

"We went over this already, remember?"

"Oh, right, that night in the common room, after the Quidditch game. I forgot about that," said Scorpius, remembering.

"We should probably get inside, it's freezing out here. It wouldn't be bad if I wasn't completely soaked," said Albus glaring at Scorpius. The blonde boy pointedly ignored him.

**. . . . . .**

"Hey, babe, want to take a walk after dinner?"

"Nah, sorry, I got detention with Albus," said Scorpius, shoving a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"Just skip it," said Baddock.

Scorpius shook his head. "I've got one every week, I don't want to have to get in worse trouble than what I'm already in."

Albus knew he was just making an excuse, Scorpius would've been happy to skip detention, no matter the consequences, if a trip to Azkaban wasn't involved.

"Oh, come on, it won't matter. Just this once, please?"

"I don't think Professor Longbottom would go easy on him if he-" began Albus.

"Nobody asked your opinion, Potter," snapped Baddock, shooting him a look that chilled him to the bone.

He threw up his hands in surrender. "Right, I forgot that I need your permission every time I want to open my mouth. Sorry."

Scorpius watched them both with amusement. He clearly found the way Baddock bossed Albus around hilariously funny.

"Yes, so keep it shut will you?" said Baddock.

Albus shot Scorpius a look that seemed to say _Remind me why you put up with her?_

"Hey, don't do that," said Baddock, waving her hand in front of Albus's face, breaking his eye connection with Scorpius. "It's like you guys have telepathy or something. It's scary to watch you guys do that."

"Telepathy. Now there is something that would be amazingly useful," said Scorpius thoughtfully.

"You as good as have it already, at least with Potter, anyways," said Baddock in annoyance.

"I wonder what it would be like. Would it be the same as talking, just in your head? Or maybe it would actually be like being in the person's head, and you'd be able to see their memories, and things like that," said Scorpius, wondering aloud.

Baddock looked at him like he was slightly crazy. "What type of whacky world do you think we live in? Don't be ridiculous, telepathy doesn't exist."

"A world that involves magic, unicorns, and dragons? I don't know about you, but it strikes me as being kind of whacky," said Albus.

"Did I tell you that you could speak?" demanded Baddock.

"Sorry," said Albus once more, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I should go shut myself in a cupboard? If that's the case, maybe you could hook me up with some of that tapioca pudding to take with me, Scorpius."

"Maybe you should," said Baddock. "That way you'd leave me and Scorpius with some privacy."

"Or maybe _we_ should be the ones to go shut ourselves in a cupboard?" said Scorpius, eyes glittering with amusement. "Don't you think that would be enjoyable, Baddock? You. Me. Plenty of tapioca pudding in a small cupboard?"

"Ew, what's with the tapioca pudding?" she asked.

"What, you don't like it?" asked Scorpius in an injured tone.

"Nah, never been a big fan," she said.

"That's no good, how can you not like tapioca? I no longer know if this relationship will work out," said Scorpius, looking rather distressed.

"From the beginning I didn't think this would work out," grumbled Albus to himself.

"Don't be ridiculous, Scorpius, tapioca pudding is not that important," chided Baddock.

"Says you, tapioca happens to be a matter very close to my heart," said Scorpius.

Baddock quirked an eyebrow at him. "Don't play with me."

"I'm not playing," said Scorpius, shaking his head. "Tapioca is much to serious to mess around with."

"All this talk of pudding is making me ready for dessert," said Albus.

"Be quiet!" snapped Baddock.

"You be quiet," muttered Albus.

"Well, I think dessert will have to wait, Albus. We got to get down to that detention," said Scorpius.

"But it's not for another-"

"Ten minutes, that's right," interrupted Scorpius. "However, it will take that much time to get down to the greenhouses, and we don't want to be late- it being only our second detention and all." Scorpius shot Albus a look that clearly said, _Stop being a prat, so we can get out of here._

"Right," said Albus hastily, "we should be on our way."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, I guess," pouted Baddock.

"Yes, tomorrow," said Scorpius getting to his feet, and starting to walk away.

"You're not going to leave without a goodbye?" demanded Baddock. Scorpius felt a strong sense of deja vu from that night of the Gryffindor Quidditch celebration- except this time Baddock was in the place he had been.

"Goodbye, Baddock," he said, flashing a smile. As he turned and walked away, he could feel her glare on the back of his head.

**. . . . . .**

"Nothing like sitting out in the freezing cold for half an hour, in the dark, just because a pillock was avoiding his so-called-girlfriend," said Albus loudly, as he made his way down to the greenhouses.

Albus didn't catch the slight shrug of Scorpius's shoulders next to him- it was too dark.

"Pain builds character," said Scorpius.

"Don't give me crap like that," complained Albus.

Scorpius was stomping along, clearly enjoying the crunch of his boots in the snow. "Don't you love winter?" he asked.

"Not particularly," replied Albus, thinking of the all the cold nights, and how it got dark so early.

"Ah, but it's so great. Snow is the best."

"If you like snow so much, why don't you move to Alaska?" grumbled Albus.

"People around here would miss me too much- the suicide rates would get too high," said Scorpius placidly.

"You're ego is going to put you in a bad place one day," said Albus.

"As long as there's tapioca pudding there, I won't consider it a bad place."

"Will you stop with the tapioca, already?" Albus moaned.

They arrived at the first of the greenhouses, and Albus swung it open and entered, followed quickly by Scorpius.

Humidity and heat washed over them, and for the first time, Albus didn't find himself minding it that much.

Longbottom was already there. He had his back to them, and seemed to be crushing some seeds with the flat of his knife on a worktable. He didn't look up or turn around when they came in.

Albus looked around, and didn't see any clock, and sighed in relief- the Professor wouldn't have any way to tell that they were late, then.

"You were supposed to be here five minutes ago," said Neville, still not moving from his work.

"How did you-?" began Albus in surprise.

Now the Professor did stop what he was doing, and turned to face them. He grinned. "That's a time telling plant there." He indicated a specimen over his shoulder. It seemed almost like a small tree, but it only had two branches. Albus watched it carefully, and made out that they were slowly rotating around the trunk.

"Ah, I see," said Albus.

"Well, it's no matter. We'll have plenty of time together over the next few weeks, as I understand," said Neville, smiling at them.

"Yay, I'm leaping up and down with excitement," said Scorpius dryly.

"Oh, I can tell," said Neville. "So to get you even more pumped up for our little detentions together, we're going to be fertilizing today," he said, the grin back on his face.

Albus blanched. "Seriously?" he asked.

Scorpius sighed. "Oh, joy," he said.

An hour and a half later, the two boys found themselves irritable, and smelling rather like manure.

"I love this," said Scorpius as sarcastically as possible. "I must say, I can't wait till next week."

_If there is a next week, _thought Albus.

"That's great, Mr. Malfoy, because next week I have an even better job for the two of you," said the Herbology professor, pulling off the gloves he had been wearing.

"What could be better than this?" muttered Scorpius, but Neville heard him.

"Oh, believe me, there are _plenty _of jobs I can find that will delight you even more than this."

"Can't wait," said Scorpius.

"Alright, well, run along, you two. I'll just finish putting these sacks of fertilizer away," said Neville.

"Professor, we can do that for you," said Albus.

Neville looked at him in surprise. "Offering to extend your detention, Mr. Potter? If even by only a few minutes, it's surprising to say the least," he said.

"Well, me and Scorpius could do it in just a couple of minutes. And, no offense, Professor, but we are a lot younger than you," said Albus, silently begging that he would just leave, and not find anything suspicious.

Clearly, Neville didn't think there was anything in the greenhouses that Albus and Scorpius would bother getting into mischief over. "Sure, why not." He tossed Albus a ring full of keys. "They just go in that shed over there." He indicated with a wave of his hand. "The big iron one is for the shed, and the smaller one that's shaped like a triangle is for the greenhouse door. Just lock up when you finish, and send the keys to me with one of the school owls."

Neville threw on a cloak, and stepped out into the cold of the night.

Scorpius and Albus locked eyes, and grinned.

**Author's Note:**

**Hope you liked it, or even better, loved it! Don't forget to drop a review! =D**


	17. Azkaban

**Author's Note:**

**BIG thank yous to everyone for reviewing, you guys are the beeessstttt =] Every single last one is appreciated immensely. You have no idea how much Authors need reviews, unless you've written something yourself. Anyways, I have some bad news =S November is here, and I am participating in NaNoWriMo, for those of you who might know what that is. Basically, I'm writing a whole novel in a month. As you can imagine, that's a lot of writing, so I won't be writing any more of this story until December. BUT WAIT! That's not as terrible as it sounds. I worked extra and got ahead, so there are enough chapters for me to continue posting one every ten days until December. Once we get there, I will come back to it with earnest. I know that's not nearly enough, but it's better than nothing, right? And I figured this is probably one of the few chances I'll have enough time to do NaNoWriMo. So, wish me luck!**

Chapter 17: Azkaban

"This is the 'outfit' you were talking about?" asked Albus incredulously.

"I told you I wanted to look impeccable," said Scorpius.

"I'm not sure I'll look good in this," Albus said doubtfully.

"Of course you will, I picked it out. Even if you don't, it'll look good on me, and that's what's important. And at least we'll match, that's also a must. Criminals need to match. It's a given."

"I don't kno-"

"Just put it on," said Scorpius in exasperation, taking it off the bed and chucking it at his friend.

"All right, _all right_," said Albus, under the assault of flying clothes.

A few minutes late, Albus was staring at himself in the mirror. The "outfits" that Scorpius had picked out for them consisted of several pieces. The first was a plain black shirt that clung to your body. The second was a leather jacket that was, again, black. Then there was a pair of cargo pants, and heavy, dragonhide boots- both of which were black as well, though the boots did have silver buckles. A pair of black leather gloves for the hands, and the final piece was a silver pendant of a roaring lion, rearing up on his hind paws. This was worn on a light, thin, also silver, chain about the neck.

"Much obsessed with black and silver are we?" asked Albus, turning and raising his eyebrows at Scorpius.

Scorpius was dressed in the same clothes as Albus, and was sitting on the bed, just pulling on the last glove. "It gives a regal, mysterious air," he said.

Albus shook his head, looking back at the mirror. Despite himself, he couldn't help but admit that Scorpius did have impeccable taste, and that he had probably never looked better. His emerald eyes shone out at him from between the darkness of his hair and the identical darkness of his jacket and shirt.

Scorpius strode over and stood by Albus, clapping him on the shoulder. "_How now, my hearts! Did you never see the picture of 'we three'?_" said Scorpius. "Except for that doesn't really work, because there's only two of us."

"What's that?" asked Albus in confusion.

"Nothing, just a quote," replied Scorpius. "Now, we really do look impeccable, don't we?"

"This is one time you really are right," said Albus wryly. The mirror showed the two of them standing side-by-side. They were almost complete duplicates of each other, except that Scorpius's blonde hair was a sharp contrast to his clothes, unlike Albus's locks which were the same color. And the eyes. Albus's were shining emerald's; Scorpius's were blazing sapphires.

"I'm always right," said Scorpius.

Albus made a face at him.

"What are the necklaces for?" asked Albus, playing with the silver lion.

"First off, they look great. But that aside, they're charmed to help protect the wearer. They'll only do so much, though. They can't save you from an Avada Kedavra to the chest, but they'll turn aside hexes and jinxes that are only headed to brush your arm or something."

"Really?" asked Albus in surprise, not expecting there to be a deeper reason for wearing them, other than "looking impeccable."

"Yeah," said Scorpius. "Even I'm slightly cautious- every once in a while."

"And there are very, _very _long expanses of time between those 'whiles'," pointed out Albus.

Scorpius grunted. "Self-preservation isn't very high up on my to-do list."

"Only when our whole future as free men is on the line, right?"

Scorpius's eyes snapped to lock on Albus's. "Our future isn't on the line," he ground out. "We're not getting locked away in Azkaban, okay, Albus? Don't even think that. We won't."

Albus looked at Scorpius silently for a moment. "Right, Scorpius."

"We should probably get going," said Scorpius.

"Yeah, let's go," replied Albus, taking his Invisibility Cloak off his trunk.

"You ready for this?" asked Scorpius.

"Heck yes," said Albus, his fist clenching in the folds of the cloak.

"I'm going to be really unoriginal and cliché, okay?"

"Sure, go ahead. I won't hold it against you," said Albus dryly.

"I'm with you, come hell or high water."

**. . . . . .**

It was short work for Albus and Scorpius- sneaking down to the greenhouses, under cover of the invisibility cloak, and slinking in. They had left the door unlocked of course, and because it was a Sunday, and hence a day off, Neville wasn't down there, and hadn't found that they hadn't done as they had said.

Scorpius immediately crossed the greenhouse, until he found the Three-Stemmed Pricker. Shrinking it with a spell, he picked it up and tossed it to Albus.

Albus caught it hastily, eyes widening in surprise. "Scorpius, what the heck? If I had dropped it, or something, there would have been all our chances down the drain. That was careless and stupid."

Scorpius laughed. "You need to loosen up a bit, Albus."

"Loosen up? We're breaking into Azkaban- people don't just _do _that, Scorpius. And we're kids. This is no time to loosen up."

"No, this is exactly the time. We're not going to be able to pull this off if you're jumping off cliffs at so much as a fly landing on you," said Scorpius with amusement.

Albus rolled his eyes. Casting a heating charm on the Pricker, he stuffed it into the inside pocket of his leather jacket. "Let's go."

"My pleasure," said Scorpius.

**. . . . . .**

They flew hard, and they flew fast.

Even though it was just after midday when they finally approached Azkaban, it was overcast, and it was dark for this time of day, with no promise of a sun coming to rescue them from the dismal weather.

There it was. Azkaban. A dull, stone tower that loomed to the sky out of a tumultuous and wild ocean. The sound of the waves crashing against the rock walls of the prison was almost deafening, even though the boys flew high above it. A very narrow stone causeway led from the base of the tower over to the mainland of England.

The sky was full of Dementors. They seemed almost to be without number, their dark, cloaked figures floating ominously below the clouds.

The air seemed close and suffocating to Albus, and there was a chill in the air. He shivered, and drew his leather jacket about him.

Albus pulled the Invisibility Cloak, which they had still been wearing, off, and handed it to Scorpius.

"Why are you giving this to me?" asked Scorpius in surprise.

"Just in case something gets messy," said Albus.

"And if that happens, then you'll need it," said Scorpius, thrusting it at him.

Albus shook his head. "I've got the Pricker, that should be enough for me to get away. You take it. Besides, you're the one with no sense of self-preservation," said Albus with a wry smile.

"Exactly why I won't make good use of it," said Scorpius, eyebrows raised.

"Just take it," said Albus.

"Okay, fine." Scorpius took the cloak, stuffing it inside his jacket.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Lestraud appeared, hovering beside them on a broom.

"Hey, boys," she said, smiling at them.

"Oh, it's you. Happy day," grumbled Scorpius.

"Glad to see you, too," she said.

"Lestraud," said Albus succinctly.

"Albus," she said teasingly. Albus rolled his eyes.

They were now almost within range of the Dementors.

"Get ready for some fun," cried Scorpius, grinning and drawing his wand.

"Oh, yes," Albus muttered. He drew his wand. "_Haud Nidor!_"

Scorpius mimicked the charm.

"What's that for?" asked Lestraud curiously.

"To protect us from the Three-Stemmed Pricker," said Albus.

"The what?"

"Just do it, unless you want to be incapacitated in there," said Albus in annoyance. Lestraud obliged.

The trio was nearing the stone tower, when the Dementors finally seemed to notice them.

The Dementors came swooping in from all sides, dark fluttering capes and seemingly empty hoods.

The air seemed to turn to ice, as all happiness and warmth was sucked from the three teenagers.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Two voices yelled simultaneously.

Large silver shapes blasted from their wands. A large scorpion on one side, and a coiling dragon on the other.

Warmth seemed to flood back into Albus's limbs, as the scorpion and dragon rushed into a ferocious battle with the oncoming foes.

The Patronus' whirled around them. The dragon would blast a Dementor back here, and then would leap over Albus to smite down another on that side. The scorpion danced left and right with a nimbleness Albus wouldn't have expected of such a big beast. His large, barbed tail flicked this way and that, knocking Dementors spinning away.

The three students shot toward the prison on their brooms, protected by their silvery shields.

They landed on the flat roof, dropping their brooms and heading for the lone staircase that headed down to where they would find the prisoners.

Albus pulled out the Pricker, enlarged it, and sat it down on the roof. He started to furiously stroke on of the leaves.

Rain started to pour down fast and fierce, soaking them and plastering their hair to their heads. But it soon chained to flakes of snow because of the cold, flowing around them in a blizzard

"What the hell?" cried Lestraud.

"Blast!" said Albus with passion.

Quickly shutting off the snow, Albus went for the only other leave that could be the scent-inducing one.

At first he wondered if anything was happening, because he couldn't smell anything due to him being the one stroking the stem. But then he looked up, and saw all the Dementors in good-sized radius around him frozen, seeming to just hang in the air, motionless. Though farther away the Dementors were still floating about.

He looked over at Scorpius and Lestraud. Thankfully, the charm they had cast earlier had seemed to work, and they were in complete control of themselves.

Despite everything, he let out a loud laugh of relief. "It worked!" he cried gleefully.

"But who knows for how long? Let's go," yelled Scorpius, heading for the staircase that vanished into the tower.

Albus heaved the plant over to the top of the stairs, and followed Scorpius down. Lestraud came last.

The staircase spiraled down the center of the prison, all the way form the roof to the very lowest floor. On each level there was a landing, and four corridors lead off of it, each in a different direction.

Each hall was lined with barred cells, and each cell was filled with a gaunt, hollow-eyed prisoner.

The trio stood at the landing of the first level. At the moment, every prisoner was pressed up against the bars of their cell, a grin plastered on their face, and a look of bliss in their eyes.

"I must say, that is now how I pictured the prisoners of Azkaban," said Scorpius with some amusement.

"It's because of the Pricker, obviously," pointed out Albus.

"Oh, right," said Scorpius.

"Let's do this."

They ran along each corridor on the floor, blasting off the locks of the cells, and pulling open the doors. Lestraud was kind enough to join in, helping it go faster.

As soon as their cells were open, the prisoners would press forward and up the stairs to the roof, obviously heading for the Pricker, wanting to get as much as the scent as possible.

As soon as they were finished with the whole level, they headed to the next, and the next after that.

After about the third level, the prisoners no longer were scrabbling at the bars of their cells with looks of bliss on their face. They were now generally cowering in a corner, or lying face down on their narrow cot. These people generally looked up in surprise when their cell door was busted open, but they would leap to their feet, and rush out with huge smiles on their face, eager to get away.

They continued from level to level, but there seemed no end, and Lestraud's mom still hadn't been found.

Finally, they were almost done. They reached the fourth floor from the bottom. Here the prisoners looked very haggard indeed, and seemed like mere skeletons of humans. At last, on this level, they found Lestraud's mother.

She was the spitting image of Lestraud, only taller, and older looking. When she tore forth from her cell, Lestraud threw her a wand. She caught sight of Scorpius, and an expression of bitter amusement flashed across her features.

Stepping out of the next cell, came a tall man with brown hair, and dark eyes. For a moment, Scorpius and Albus just stared stupidly in surprise, but then they both realized at the same time, it wasn't who they thought it was, it was his _father_.

"Lestraud," said Driscoll's father, with a nod of his head.

"Driscoll," answered Lestraud's mother with a return of the nod.

_Right, I suppose they're both Lestraud and Driscoll too, if you think about it,_ thought Albus wryly.

Scorpius was rather white, standing beside him.

They blasted open the next three cells, and three more recognizable people stepped out. Babcock, Bulstrode, and Zabini.

"Oh, boy, these Slytherins do sure seem to end up in Azkaban a lot, don't they?" Scorpius muttered.

"And they sure look a heck of a lot like their lovely old children," replied Albus under his breath.

Aubrielle pulled out several more wands from her robes, and tossed them to the older versions of Driscoll, Babcock, Bulstrode, and Zabini.

"Wait a second..." began Albus in surprise.

"Oh, hell," said Scorpius.

"Yep, my mother wasn't the only one you were breaking out for me," said Aubrielle with a grin.

"And you boys are coming with us," said Driscoll, with a smirk.

"You wish we were," said Scorpius.

The five adults advanced on them, slowly.

Suddenly, there was an intense, piercing cold from behind them.

Scorpius and Albus whirled, to find themselves staring directly into the hood of a Dementor.

There were several sharp hisses of anger and fear from the adults.

Albus and Scorpius dived around the Dementor, ran to the stairs, and started sprinting up, but the Dementor followed, and they could hear the clattering of feet on the steps behind them, signaling that their enemies were also coming after them.

"What happened?" Albus said, slightly out of breath.

"The Pricker must have cut out," snapped Scorpius, turning quickly to blast a Patronus at the Dementor. The cloaked shape turned and bowled over a Zabini in his haste to get away from the silver scorpion.

They continued to sprint up the stairs, but now hexes were being fired at them from the pursuing adults. They dodged left and right, blocking one here, and sending a counter back at them there.

Screams could be heard from above them now, it seemed that all the prisoners who had been enchanted by the Pricker were now crashing down the staircase toward them, desperately trying to get away form the Dementors.

A tide of people came surging toward them from around the next bend in the stairs. Albus and Scorpius narrowly avoided getting trampled, but managed to force their ways through the mess, and finally, out onto the roof.

All was chaos

Dementors swooped here and there, and prisoners were running back and forth, trying to avoid them. Some, in their haste to escape the Dementors (of which some were starting to give out Dementor's Kisses left and right), were actually leaping off the roof, falling to the crashing waves far below.

To their surprise, Albus and Scorpius found Lily, Monique, and Hugo being some of the people running around in circles, trying to avoid the Dementors.

"What the-" began Albus in surprise and confusion.

Scorpius leapt forward. "_Expecto Patronum!" _he bellowed, just in time to save Lily from a Dementor who was closing in for the Kiss.

Hugo and Monique were pressed up against the wall of the roof, and Hugo was firing a stunning spell at one of the Dementors, to no use.

_"Expecto Patronum!_" roared Albus, his dragon leaping forth and saving them from the said Dementor.

Hugo looked relieved. "Boy, am I glad to see you," he said.

Albus grunted. "I'm going to deal with you later," he said, turning and shielding them from another Dementor.

"What are you doing here?" demanded Scorpius of Lily.

"We came to help," she snapped.

"Well, not doing much of that so far, are you?" snarled Scorpius. "So far, all I see is you getting in the way."

"Watch out!" Lily cried, pulling Scorpius to the ground. A brilliant jet of light soared right through were he had been standing.

Scorpius spun from his spot on the floor, to see Lestraud's mother at the head of the group of prisoners with wands.

He pulled his wand up, and fired a spell, which Driscoll easily blocked. "Albus," he called, "we've got company."

Albus whirled, turned slightly white, but fired off a couple of spells before dodging to the side as a couple of curses came his way.

Albus with one hand grabbed Monique's arm, and with the other grabbed Hugo by his robes. He dragged them over and slammed them down behind a large stone barrier, just in time to avoid getting hit by a couple of jinxes soaring their way.

Scorpius and Lily had done the same with a similar barrier. But now they were across the roof from Albus and the other two, and their enemies were between them.

They were cut off from each other, with hundreds of Dementors flying about in the sky around them, and six desperate enemies, who for some reason were determined to take them captive, attacking them with a ferocity they had never faced before.

How are they going to get out of here?

**Author's Note:**

**Tense, right? =P We're getting to exciting chapters, I can tell you that. Anyways, the quote "How now, my hearts..." is from Twelfth Night. Remember to review, and be on the look out for the next chapter. Wish me luck with NaNoWriMo, and the same to you for anyone who might be doing it! =D**


	18. Piercing Fire

**Author's Note:**

**Hey, hey, hey! Here's the next chapter. Fast paced, and action filled, it will pretty much pull you through it. For those of you who care, I'm already at ten thousand words for NaNoWriMo. So if I can keep up the pace, I'll be finishing a few days early. Fingers crossed. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.**

Chapter 18: Piercing Fire

"I feel like cursing very loudly and for a very long period of time, but I will refrain from doing so, because there is a lady present," said Scorpius, leaning around their little wall of protection and firing off a salvo of spells.

"Please, don't hold back on my account," said Lily dryly. Throwing her arm over the barrier, and firing off a couple of jinxes without looking.

"I want to know how the heck you guys knew we were coming here?" demanded Scorpius, ducking back just as a curse singed by.

"Hugo's a Diviner, remember?" said Lily.

"Gah, so we can't ever do anything without his knowing, again? That's going to make life fun," said Scorpius sarcastically, casting a Patronus just in time to deflect some Dementors that came swooping down.

"I don't know how much he sees, but I doubt your personal life will be infiltrated, Scorpius," said Lily.

"Who knows? Maybe he controls what he sees?"

"In which case, I highly doubt he'll spend his time, and gift, stalking you, Scorpius. I hate to burst your bubble, but most people do not spend every one of their waking moments thinking about you."

"Must you tell me the terrible truth at a time like this?" wailed Scorpius, again casting a Patronus.

"Sorry, but it just couldn't wait."

On the other side of the roof, Albus was also casting a Patronus, while Monique and Hugo fired hexes at the enemy.

"Why aren't any Aurors showing up?" demanded Hugo, leaping back undercover as a black jet of light soared by.

"They're all at the stupid Official's meeting. We purposefully chose today to come here because it was going on right now. Besides, the Dementors are supposed to 'hold the fort down,' and they don't exactly have a way of contacting the Ministry. It's supposed to be completely safe, so the Aurors won't expect a break out at all. It'll be ages before they know what's going on," yelled Albus over the crashing of the waves, and the distant screams of prisoners below (the prisoners who had been on the roof itself had long since either jumped over the edge, or fled into the prison itself, or been given the Dementor's Kiss, and were now wandering around aimlessly, blankly staring into space).

"How are we going to get out of here?" asked Monique, firing off a slew of spells over the barrier.

"I'm working on that," Albus ground out between gritted teeth. "How did you guys get here in the first place?"

"On brooms," answered Monique.

"Where are they?" asked Albus.

Monique made a gesture that indicated they were somewhere on the other side of their protection.

"Same as mine," answered Albus woefully. "Where did the Pricker go?" he asked absentmindedly of the air.

"You mean the weird plant thing?" asked Hugo. "It kind of got trampled into the ground."

"Great, just great..." Albus muttered.

Back over on the other side of the roof, Scorpius was complaining.

"This was supposed to be a prison break, not a redone version of the O.K. Corral," whined Scorpius.

"Sorry your day isn't turning out as planned," snapped Lily, just before she leapt to her feet, shot off a couple of hexes, and dived back down. Many returning curses flew over the barrier, and some actually collided with it, making chips of stone fly off in all directions.

"Okay, here's the plan," began Lily.

"Oh, no, not one of your plans."

Lily glared at him.

"Yes?" he asked innocently.

"You're going to provide cover for me, while I try and grab a couple of the brooms, okay?"

"Sounds risky," said Scorpius. "Kind of like something I'd come up with. I like it. Lets do it."

Lily nodded. "Ready?"

"Always," said Scorpius, with a grin.

Lily leapt to her feet and ran around the barrier, charging for where a couple of their brooms lay on the ground.

Scorpius stood up, planning on firing a fast salvo of spells, but immediately got hit by a curse. He was thrown back and slammed into the low wall that ran around the roof, and narrowly avoided falling over. As it was, black dots danced across his vision, and he half-stood, leaning on the wall, too dazed to move.

Lily was still running for the brooms, trying to fire off her own jinxes to cover her, but she got hit by a hex sent by Zabini, and she was drawn toward him like a fish being reeled in on a hook. He caught her lightly in his arms.

Albus leapt over his barrier, charging at his enemies. "Let go of my sister!" he bellowed firing off a spell.

A red jet of light flew from Driscoll's wand, hitting Albus in the chest. Albus was thrown back and crashed into the stone barrier. He slid limply to the ground, knocked unconscious.

"Quick, let's get out of here!" yelled Lestraud's mother over the commotion. The group of six, with Lily struggling in Zabini's arms, turned and swept down the stairs into the prison.

"Lily!" screamed Monique, running around the barrier and charging after them. Hugo was hard on her heels.

It was a few minutes before Scorpius fully recovered, and pulled himself off the wall. And it was only just in the nick of time, for a Dementor was swooping in on the still form of Albus.

"_Expecto Patronum!" _cried Scorpius. The scorpion beat the Dementor away in a couple of seconds. "Piece of filth," Scorpius muttered under his breath.

The roof was almost empty now. Only Scorpius and Albus were up there. Well, them and a few absentminded prisoners who were wandering around, looking lost.

Scorpius ran over and bent down by Albus. "_Ennervate_," he breathed.

Albus's eyelids fluttered open, his bright green eyes focusing on Scorpius's face.

"Will you stop passing out every time things get exciting?" asked Scorpius.

Albus sat up, ignoring his question. "Where's Lily?" he demanded.

"They took her," said Scorpius. "And Hugo and Monique went after them."

Albus's eyes widened. "Quick, lets go," he cried, leaping to his feet.

They each grabbed a broom, and ran over to the side of the roof.

Far below they could see the narrow causeway that led to the mainland. Here and there a few straggling prisoners were running along it, as some Dementors tried to pick them off. They could see their six enemies, sprinting along, Lily still held in Zabini's arms.

Hugo and Monique were a little ways behind them, but still pursuing, and sending spells flying at them on the go.

Albus didn't even hesitate. He lunged off the roof, swinging his broom between his legs. He shot downward, a splash of color in the air.

Scorpius was right after him, flying his broom to its limits.

As they hurtled down from the very high roof of the prison, they watched in horror as Lestraud fired a spell over her shoulder. It flew and collided with Monique, who wasn't quite fast enough to dodge it. She staggered backward, and into Hugo. The two of them lost their balance, and tumbled into the roaring ocean.

"You get them. I'll get Lily!" Scorpius yelled over the roaring of the wind in his ears.

Albus hesitated, then finally nodded. He veered off and down sharply, heading to where Hugo and Monique could be seen struggling in the outrageously high and furious waves.

Scorpius was now closing in on his targets, who were getting relatively close to the mainland by this time. He fired off a slew of spells, but none of them found their targets. His opponents cast curses over their shoulders as they ran, but didn't stop or turn to face him.

He flew in circles around them, continually firing more jinxes, but they continued to run on, blocking his attacks and sending counterattacks after him, forcing him to keep on the move.

He could see that Lily had seemed to stop struggling. He figured that they must have stunned her.

Scorpius continued valiantly on, but was unable to get around their defenses before they got to the mainland.

"Go!" yelled Driscoll to his companions. "I'll take care of this kid." He turned away from his fellow ex-prisoners.

Scorpius came whipping around him, firing a spell at his chest.

Driscoll blocked it easily, and with a flourish of his wand, sent a spell flying into Scorpius's path of motion.

Scorpius was blasted off his broom. He hit the icy ground, and bounced along until he fetched up against a tree. For the second time that day, black spots danced across his vision.

Driscoll strolled calmly toward Scorpius, his wand held loosely in his hand. Behind his advancing attacker, Scorpius could see the fleeing figures of Lestraud and the others.

"I'm going to make you pay, boy, for your father putting me in Azkaban," said Driscoll coolly.

"My father- what?" gasped Scorpius in surprise.

"He has made my son feel the disgrace of an imprisoned father. And while I cannot make you feel that pain, I'll be sure to make sure you feel plenty of physical agony."

Scorpius started to draw himself to his feet, but he wasn't moving very fast, and with a wave of his wand, Driscoll sent him slamming back into the tree.

Scorpius groaned, but grabbed at a low branch to help himself stay on his feet.

"_Crucio!_" hissed Driscoll.

"_Protego!_" snapped Scorpius, blocking the curse.

Driscoll's eyes narrowed. "Oh, no you don't."

"You bet I do," snarled Scorpius.

"_Incendio!_"

Scorpius dove to the side, just as the tree burst into flames.

"_Locomotor Mortis!_" cried Scorpius from the ground.

Driscoll's legs snapped together just as he took a step forward, making him peel over on the ground.

Scorpius was already on his feet again, and charging after the now-distant figures that had possession of Lily.

But Driscoll had already cast a counter-curse, and was standing again. "I don't have time for this," he spat. "_Avada Kedavra!_"

Lucky for Scorpius, his foot slipped on the icy ground, and he fell flat on his face, leaving the killing curse to soar over his head, and him unharmed (well, other than his wounded pride that he fell).

He rolled over onto his back. "_Stupefy!_"

Driscoll stepped aside, easily dodging the spell.

"_Crucio!_"

"_Protego!_"

Driscoll's calm demeanor was starting to fade. "You're making me angry, boy."

"I'd say the same," said Scorpius, leaping to his feet and to the side. He yelled the first spell that shot into his head. "_Sectumsempra!_"

Driscoll spun, and the jet of light flew just over his shoulder, barely missing him. He stared at Scorpius in horror, as if contemplating what it would have been like if the curse had actually hit him.

Scorpius stared back in equal astonishment, surprised that he had cast such dark magic.

The look on Driscoll's face turned quickly to rage.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" he cried, his wand shooting up in a blur.

Scorpius didn't react fast enough, and found himself in a body lock, lying in the snow.

"You'll suffer for trying to pull that off," said Driscoll, his voice like ice. "I'm going to let you drown. _Flipendo!_"

Scorpius was blasted up into the air. His body soared through the sky, and with splash that couldn't possible be heard over the crashing of the sea, fell into the water.

Having absolutely no control over his limbs, Scorpius slowly sunk toward the watery deep.

**. . . . . .**

Albus shot toward the water, not sure exactly what he planned to do to try and help Monique and Hugo. As it turned out, he didn't need to make a decision.

For as he was nearing them, a Dementor he hadn't caught sight of, shot right out in front of him. Letting out a little yelp of surprise, Albus tumbled over backward, and off his broom. Plummeting downward, he crashed into the tumultuous sea.

He was bawled over beneath the waves, spinning uncontrollably, not sure of where he was or which way was up.

Opening his eyes, he let out a little of his breath, and seeing which way the bubbles floated, swam to the surface.

His face breaking out into the air, he took great shuddering breaths, and looked around.

He could see Monique and Hugo, clinging on to each other, only a few yards away.

"Hugo!" he called. The redhead caught sight of him, and turned and said something quickly to Monique.

Albus was bowled over once more from a large wave. Surfacing again, he found that he had actually been knocked closer to Hugo and Monique. Spluttering on salt water, Albus crossed the last little span of distance that separated them.

"How are we going to get out of here?" cried Monique over the loud noise of the ocean.

Albus shook his head. "Let's head for the causeway," he replied.

They started to swim toward it, but found that the waves were actually fiercest here. The water rose above them, slamming down over their heads and knocking them beneath the water.

Yet again, Albus fought to get his head above water. Pulling his wand out, he didn't hesitate. "_Flipendo!" _he repeated, twice, quickly.

First Monique, and then Hugo, were blasted up and out of the water. They landed heavily on the causeway with gasps of pain, but at least they were out of the water.

Albus struggled in the water, but finally, managed to cast a spell on himself, that shot him up and landed him beside a gasping Hugo.

He hit the hard stones with enough force to knock the breath out of him, and cause his wand to fly out of his hand, spinning down the slippery walkway.

As he lay there, trying to regain his breath, the Dementors came down.

There were four of them, one for each teenager, and two for Hugo.

All warmth and happiness was gone in a second, and the Dementors came in closer, preparing to give the Kiss that would turn them into walking zombies. And Albus was the only one could cast the Patronus of the three of them, and his wand was too far away.

It was getting worse each second, already all three of them were immobilized by despair. All seemed lost.

"Help, someone, please, help," croaked out Hugo.

Suddenly there was a loud crack.

Hugo stared up in surprise. Standing over him was a tall man in a Irish-green suit, with a bowler hat lying on his head at a jaunty angle.

Fire spurted from the fingers of the man. They sprung up, great and brilliant. The heat washed over the three teenagers, warming them to the core. The fire blasted out, engulfing two of the Dementors.

High pitched screaming sounds issued from the dark hoods. The Dementors turned and started to fly away, but only made it a few feet, before completely burning up. Dark ashes fell to the water below.

The man turned, letting lances of fire shoot out of his palms. They speared through the two remaining Dementors, who didn't even have a chance to run, but exploded in a burst of black dust.

"You," gasped Hugo, scrabbling to his feet.

The man flashed a wide smile. "Yes. Did we not tell young Mr. Malfoy that we would be watching over you?"

"Why didn't you intervene sooner?" asked Monique, heaving herself shakily to her feet.

"We can't solve all of Hugo's problems for him. If we did, he would not be able to grow and learn."

Albus, leaping to his feet, rushed to his wand, snatched it up, and began to sprint along the causeway.

Hugo grabbed Albus's arm as he tried to rush by. "Albus, where are you going?"

"I need to find Lily before it's too late!" yelled Albus, jerking himself out of Hugo's grip. Hugo grabbed him again, this time with two arms.

"Come on, think! They're long gone now. We need to get out of here. We can tell the Ministry, they'll know what to do."

"Yeah, right after they chuck me in a cell," snarled Albus. "Besides, Scorpius went after them."

"Then you need to trust him," snapped Monique.

"If anything happens to him, because of me, I'll never forgive myself. Never. You guys would never understand," Albus's voice was almost a scream. His eyes were blazing and heated.

"Mr. Potter," said the man in the suit. "Listen to your friends. This is no longer a matter that just concerns you. My brother and I may be able to help you a little, as long as Hugo is involved, and he asks to do what he would have us accomplish. For now, I suggest that we withdraw back to the school, to discuss the next actions we should take."

"But Scorpius-" began Albus.

"Can take care of himself, I am sure," said the man. "Do you have no trust in him?"

"I-" began Albus helplessly, before subsiding for a moment. "Where is this brother of yours?" he asked.

The man frowned, and anger flashed across his face for a brief moment. "He should be here already, but do not worry about him. He will have a good reason, I am sure, for being delayed. But no more talk now, quick, let us go!"

With three quick snaps of his fingers, the man summoned to him the teenagers' brooms.

"How-?" began Hugo in surprise.

"Just go, you will see me at the school," said the man.

Three weary teenagers flew off into the dark sky, leaving a tall man with dancing blue eyes, a silver beard, and wearing a bright green suit, staring after them.


	19. To the Castle

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there, Readers! Here's the next chapter. It gets more exciting with each installment, as the plot begins to move more and more. :) For those of you who care, NaNoWriMo is half done, and I am slightly ahead of time, and right on track! Yay! Anyways, enjoy.**

Chapter 19: To the Castle

He sank below the surface. Going ever deeper down.

He felt like thousands of needles were being dug into his skin. The icy water seared him to his bones.

He tried to struggle, but it was simply no use. He had no control over his body. And he was running out of air fast, his lungs were screaming at him to be relieved, but there was nothing he could do.

He would die here, drowned. He wondered if anybody would ever find his body, and he felt bad for Albus, knowing his friend would probably want to kill himself with guilt when he found out. He figured that at least this way he wouldn't have to spend the rest of life in Azkaban. _Way to look on the bright side at a particularly dismal time_, Scorpius congratulated himself.

And then, his vision started to darken, and he knew he was on the edge of unconsciousness. Which would lead to death.

But just before the world gave way, a firm grip clasped the upper bit of his arm. He was heaved upward, and then he found himself tossed through the air.

He landed heavily on the snow covered ground, the cold wind grabbing at him in his wet clothes. He coughed up several mouthfuls of water, and his lungs sucked in desperately, longing for oxygen.

He heard the crunch of heavy footsteps in the snow behind him, and he whirled, fearing it was Driscoll again.

But it wasn't.

Standing over him was one of the tall men that he had met in the pub, and whose job was to watch over Hugo. Supposedly.

The man was wearing the Irish-green suit that Scorpius had seen him in before, and even though he must have been the person who saved Scorpius out of the water, he was completely dry.

"You better hurry," the man said.

"Hurry?" asked Scorpius in confusion, still surprised that this man had come out of nowhere to save him.

The man indicated something behind Scorpius. "The people you were chasing are getting away."

Scorpius looked over his shoulder to see Driscoll just disappearing up a narrow lane and into a forest he had failed to notice before.

"Drat," said Scorpius, as he scrambled to his feet.

"I would suggest not full out attacking them, this time. If I were you, I'd take your broom, and follow them under that Invisibility Cloak," advised Scorpius's rescuer.

"How did you know-" began Scorpius in surprise.

"He's getting away," said the man calmly.

Scorpius nodded. And without saying another word, he ran over to where his broom lay on the ground. Mounting it, he pulled out the sopping Invisibility Cloak, from his similarly soaked leather jacket. Tossing it over himself hastily, he flew down the path after the fleeing form of Driscoll.

Driscoll was on foot, and consequently a lot slower than Scorpius. So Scorpius trailed him, making sure he was a good twenty feet or so behind him, not wanting to alert his enemy to the fact that he was there.

_If I don't stop my teeth from chattering so loudly, they're going to be the thing that gives me away_, thought Scorpius in amusement. He quietly muttered a couple of drying and warming spells beneath his breath.

Finally, Driscoll went around a bend in the path, followed by Scorpius, and there they were.

Bulstrode seemed to be flexing his considerable muscles.

Zabini was leaning back against a tree, his arms crossed across his chest.

Babcock was sitting on a large stone, combing his fingers through his hair.

Lestraud was having a quiet, hurried discussion with her mother.

And Lily, well, Lily was bound and gagged by magical cords, and was sitting on the ground rather unceremoniously. She looked like she could cry, but was determined not too.

Scorpius knew that he should probably just walk over, shift the cloak so it covered both him and Lily, then release Lily, and have the two of them just walk right out of this mess. But he didn't. The urge to know what exactly was going on, what these people were up to, was too much for him. He decided to stay and figure out things on the fly. Well, because, that was how Scorpius did things. On the fly.

Lestraud's mother looked up as Driscoll strode around the bend. "It's about time," she snapped. "What took you so long to just get rid of a stupid kid?"

_I am _not _a stupid kid,_ thought Scorpius strongly in her direction.

"I was teaching him a lesson," said Driscoll in his calm, cool voice.

_One that you totally failed at_, thought Scorpius mildly.

"Well, let's get out of here. Aubrielle brought the brooms for us all. At least someone can do things right," she glared at Bulstrode.

"What?" he asked every bit as stupidly as his son would have.

"Oh, never mind," said Lestraud's mother, throwing her arms skyward. "Here, everybody grab a broom." She handed them around. Scorpius supposed that Aubrielle must have miniaturized them and had them in the pocket of her robes or something. "Zabini, you good carrying her?" demanded Lestraud's mother, jerking her chin at Lily.

"Of course," said Zabini, scooping Lily up into his long arms, and mounting a broom.

"I can't believe we aren't just Apparating away," said Driscoll.

"_Because, _Aubrielle only turned seventeen in the summer, and didn't have a chance to get her license yet. And seeing as she is the only reason we're even out of Azkaban, I think you should be more grateful," hissed Lestraud's mother.

_The only reason they're out of Azkaban is because of _me_, _thought Scorpius irritably.

Everybody was now on they're brooms, and they took to the sky, followed by Scorpius.

It was a long flight, and Scorpius was no master at logistics, but as far as he could tell, they were following the coast north.

The tops of the trees below him flashed by as a large green smudge. The cold early-winter air whipped past him, chilling him considerably, but he continued on.

The trees soon turned to long, rolling hills, with an intermittent field here and there. And Scorpius wondered how far they were traveling.

They hugged the coast as they went, never passing out of sight of the water. Scorpius noticed the sea was more calm here. He assumed Azkaban just affected everything around it, being the miserable place it was.

Finally, Lestraud (her mother, but for the sake of my tired fingers, we'll just call the mother Lestraud, and the daughter Aubrielle from now on, okay? ;) cut across toward the sea, and soared out over it, bringing everybody else along with her.

About ten minutes later, when the coast was a little ways behind them, they came to an island. It wasn't very big, Scorpius estimated about a mile in diameter. At first glance, it seemed only to consist of a lot of trees, with one hill in the center. But as they flew around the hill, they found a castle snuggled into its far side.

It was black, and it was tall. It was set at the base of the hill, whose crest really was quite high, but the castle's towers spiraled upward, only just avoiding peeking over the top of the hill, so it remained hidden from view. The castle seemed to be mainly made up of sheer drops from spires that seemed almost to reach to the heavens.

The crew came down, and landed lightly on the top of the tallest tower.

Looking around, and seeing absolutely nothing of interest, Scorpius began to wonder what they were doing up there, when Lestraud tapped one of the stone tiles with the heel of her foot, and muttered, "_Pure-blood Pride_." A door appeared where the large stone tile had been but a moment before.

_Well, _that's _an original password_, thought Scorpius dryly.

The door swung up and outward with a wave of Lestraud's wand, revealing a staircase that disappeared into the castle.

"Where are our sons? Aren't they supposed to be here, welcoming us back?" asked Babcock.

Lestraud turned to Aubrielle, looking to her daughter for an explanation.

"They _should _all be below. Except for, well, the main issue is with Driscoll. He insisted that he wouldn't leave that stupid girl he's been dragging around after him," said Aubrielle.

Scorpius froze at the mention of who he assumed was Rose.

"He wouldn't just leave her. He was raving about the completion of something or other, and how it couldn't be pushed over the top. So he's going to be bringing her on broom, and should be here sometime a little later."

"Satisfied?" Lestraud asked of Babcock.

"Not exactly. What I want to know is why Driscoll's little son is risking everything, for some random little crush of his," demanded Babcock.

Driscoll's eyes were dark and angry. "My son always knows exactly what he's doing, and what his place is. Unlike your son, it would seem, Babcock. Did you notice that the Malfoy boy had the mark of the Culling on his face? If I remember correctly, it was _your _son who was charged with the keeping of _that_."

Babcock turned a furious red color, but didn't reply.

Scorpius reached up a gloved hand and traced the scar he could still feel on his face. Even though he wore a glove of heavy leather, he could feel the icy coldness of it through the material. _Culling? _Scorpius wondered, remembering the blade that Zabini had cut him with, and what Babcock had called it at the time, and how furious he had been with Zabini for using it.

"We can discuss this inside. In the warmth that the castle has to offer," snapped Lestraud. Without another word, she swept down the stairs that lead into the darkness. She was followed by her companions, Zabini still holding the bound form of Lily.

Scorpius followed last, and tried not to shiver with apprehension as the door slammed down above him, and turned back to stone.

**. . . . . .**

Meallan stood on the crest of a small hill, in the shadow of a tree. From his viewpoint he could see Azkaban, the Dementors swooping furiously back and forth, and Aurors running back and forth, trying to figure out what had happened.

Lasair came striding up to him, his brow furrowed in anger.

"What, are you doing?" he demanded.

Meallan looked calm as he answered. "Standing under a tree, brother."

"Don't be smart with me. You saved that Malfoy boy, I know you did."

"Yeah? Are you going to condemn me for the saving the life of a young teenager? I always thought those types of acts were held up as heroism," said Meallan.

"We are here for Hugo, you know that. No one else."

"And just to leave others to die that we could easily save? I think not."

"It is not for us to say who lives and who dies. It was his rash acts that got him into that situation."

"You know it wasn't his time to die."

"Yes, but who knows how he was going to be saved. You may have altered the future because of your thoughtless act. Maybe he was supposed to have saved himself, and learned something through that."

"There was no way for him to get himself out of that situation, you know that. And I waited as long as I could, he was already on the brink of death when I stepped in. No one else was coming, brother."

Lasair shook his head. "We are here for Hugo, and Hugo only."

"And Hugo's fate is tied up with that of these others. They are joined closely together. Through being here for Hugo, we are here for the others as well," said Meallan, not looking at Lasair, but still watching Azkaban.

"I do not agree."

"And maybe that is for a reason. Maybe you are supposed to stick closer to Hugo, but I am supposed to watch out for the others." Meallan turned his blue, crystal-like eyes on his brother. They were shining even in the dimness.

Lasair shook his head. "We are not making that decision now. Maybe when the time comes I will see that you are right, but for now, I stand by what I said."

Meallan shrugged. "Shall we go, then? They should be almost at the school by now."

"Yes, let us go."

There were two sharp cracks, and suddenly the crest of the hill was void of any living soul.

**. . . . . .**

"What do we do, what do we do, what do we _do_?" cried Albus, anxiously pacing the length of his dormitory.

Hugo was lying on one of the beds, and Monique was sitting on a trunk at the foot of another.

"We have to wait until the whats-their-names get here," said Monique.

Just then the door swung open, seemingly of its own accord. After a moment or two, it swung shut with a click, and then the two men, still in Irish-green suits, materialized out of thin air.

"We apologize for the wait," said one.

"It's no problem, we only just got here a couple of minutes ago," said Albus, ceasing in his relentless pacing.

"First off, I am Lasair, and this is my brother Meallan. In case you don't already know our names," said the one who hadn't apologized."

"Which one of you was it that saved us from the Dementors back there?" asked Hugo, pulling himself into a sitting position.

Albus caught Lasair shooting Meallan an annoyed look. "That would be me," said Lasair.

"Thanks," said Hugo.

"It's what we're here for," said Lasair dryly, shooting Meallan another look.

"What do we do ?" asked Albus.

"Forgive him, he's forgotten how to say anything else," said Hugo.

"He's really worried about his sister and Scorpius," said Monique, defending Albus.

"Yes, what to do..." said Lasair trailing off in thought. "Is there someone who would have influence with the Ministry, that you can trust?" he asked, looking at Albus.

Albus hesitated. "Yes, a couple actually. There's Scorpius's dad, but he's just an Auror, so he probably wouldn't have that much power. But Hugo's mom is Headmistress, and has quite a reputation. She could pull some strings. But what for? I mean, if we involve the Ministry, I could get sent to Azkaban. They'll want to know everything about what's happened, and then they'll know I broke everyone out. Can't we solve this on our own?"

"I don't think so. You all still have a large part to play, but it's over your heads. You won't be able to do it by yourself," answered Lasair.

"But, Azkaban..." said Albus hopelessly.

"Albus, maybe they'll understand. You didn't really have a choice in the matter, did you?" said Monique.

"Actually, that's what I want to know. What were you guys doing at Azkaban in the first place?" asked Hugo.

Albus sighed, and decided to unload his burden. "Aubrielle Lestraud told me she wanted her mother broken out. She blackmailed me to have me do it. Scorpius found out and insisted on helping me. That's why we were there. Aubrielle told me to break out all the prisoners, so that her mother could have better chance of escaping in the commotion. But it turned out that actually her mother wasn't the only one she wanted to get away, and those others were the people we were fighting with. Something bigger is obviously in the works here."

"See, maybe they'll understand that you were blackmailed," said Monique encouragingly.

"I doubt it. They'll probably just look at what happened," said Albus.

"Well, we don't know for sure, and we have to get someone involved in this, Albus," said Hugo. "You heard Lasair, we don't have a chance on our own. Besides, we don't even know where to start. They could be anywhere by now."

Albus nodded, looking rather bleak. "Anyways, it's for Scorpius and Lily. If I end up in Azkaban, but we save them, then it'll be worth it."

"That's the spirit," said Hugo, leaping up and clapping Albus on the shoulder. Albus grimaced.

"To Aunt Hermione, then?" asked Albus.

**. . . . . .**

"What is going on?" muttered Hermione to herself, hastily shuffling through some papers on her desk. "A breakout of Azkaban on top of everything? Something big is going down. There's the feeling of something dark and heavy on the air. It reminds me of the days of Voldemort," she said, breaking off and remembering those days. Those days when her and Ron ran everywhere after Harry, supporting him and helping him as best they could in what he needed to do.

She leaned over her desk, and pulled a large, heavy tome toward her. Swinging it open to a place she had marked, she looked back down at the passage entitled: _The Culling Blade_.

Absentmindedly, she pursed her lips.

Suddenly the doorknob that lead out of her office glowed bright red.

Sighing, Hermione waved her wand, which would slid aside the statue of the gargoyle below.

There were several pairs of feet on the steps outside the door, and then it swung open, revealing her son Hugo, her nephew Albus, a girl she recognized as a student but didn't know, and two tall men in the brightest, most outrageous Irish-green suits she had ever seen.

"Well, what do you want?" she asked in surprise, her eyes roving from face to face. Albus was looking quite nervous, and was twisting his hands together. Hugo was scratching the back of his head, and refusing to make eye-contact with her. The girl and the two men just stood there, waiting.

"So, Aunt Hermione, I'm sure you've heard of the Azkaban break out that happened today?" asked Albus innocently.

**Author's Note:**

**For those who generally review, review again! And if you have yet to review, please review for the first time! =D**


	20. Found Out

**Author's Note:**

**HIIIYAAAA! KA-CHING! I'm back! Sorry guys, I know I promised a new chapter every ten days and that this one was due days ago. I'm so sorry. What it comes down to is that I was traveling cross country once more and didn't have internet access. Anyways, NaNoWriMo is over and I managed to stick it out. Wooohooo! Alright, so now back to fanfiction. I'll get back into the old rhythm where I get AT LEAST one chapter a week out, but hopefully I'll be able to get at least two out in that amount of time. Enjoy.**

Chapter 20: Found Out

Scorpius followed Lily's captors down the stairs, into the darkness. Torches along the wall leapt into life as they approached, and then went out again once they were past.

Eventually, they came out into a long corridor that stretched out to their left and right, running out of sight.

Again, torches leapt alight as they approached, and then would extinguish themselves once they were gone.

They followed Lestraud down the hall, their boots making no sound on the thick wall-to-wall carpeting.

Rich tapestries adorned the wall. Different images of wars and counsels and invasions depicted in each one.

One particular scene caught Scorpius's eye, bringing him to a halt. Hordes of men and beasts were swarming the earth. But there was something strange about these creatures, these people. They were all very thin and gaunt, seemingly on the point of starvation. And their skin was tinged blue, as if from cold.

Scorpius stood staring at it for several moments, until he realized that the rest of the group was drawing away. Snapping back to himself, he strode quickly to catch them back up. The torch by the tapestry he had been inspecting went out with a little puff.

Driscoll looked back over his shoulder, his brow furrowing in confusion that the light had taken so long to go out. But after a second or two, he shrugged, and turned his back, continuing on.

Finally, Lestraud went around a turn in the corridor, and entered a room at last, followed by the rest of them.

Scorpius had to move quickly and slip through the doorway nimbly in order to enter without accidentally touching the door and swinging it open once more. For a brief moment he feared that he had brushed up against Driscoll's back as he did this, but the man didn't seem to notice anything. Scorpius let out a quiet breath in relief.

They were in a sitting room. Large, stuffed armchairs of a rich green color were set in a semicircle around a large marble fireplace. An expensive looking Persian carpet was spread across the floor. Tall windows that overlooked the ocean and the forest below were set in the wall.

Babcock, Zabini, and Bulstrode (the sons) were waiting there for them. Each one greeted his father, saying a brief phrase of greeting and clasping hands.

"What should I do with this one?" asked Zabini, indicating with his head the bound form of Lily in his arms.

"Put her in one of the spare guestrooms," said Lestraud.

"I'll take her," said Driscoll.

Zabini looked at him in surprise, then shrugged. "Sure, it's not like I immensely enjoy lugging people around." He set her on her feet, and with a shove sent her stumbling over to Driscoll. Driscoll steadied her by grabbing her shoulder.

"I'll be back in a moment," said Driscoll, leaving the room, pulling Lily roughly along by the shoulder.

Scorpius hesitated for a moment, torn between wanting to hear more of their plans, and wanting to know exactly where Lily was going to be located. Making his decision, he rushed after Driscoll.

They went along a couple of corridors, down a set of stairs, and to a door. Driscoll swung it upon, and pushed Lily inside. With a wave of his wand, he released Lily from her bonds.

"Don't even bother trying to get out, the door can only be opened from the outside," said Driscoll with amusement.

"Fun time," said Lily dryly, rubbing at her wrists were she had been magically bound.

"And you, you'll be joining her," said Driscoll coolly.

Scorpius, who was standing behind Driscoll, turned around, looking to see if someone else he hadn't noticed had come along. There was no one there.

Scorpius turned back in confusion, to see Driscoll staring straight at him, even though he was under the Invisibility Cloak.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" Scorpius collapsed over backward, onto the stairs.

Driscoll bent over, and snatched the cloak from Scorpius's unmoving limbs. He smirked as he looked down at him. "You need to be more careful. Lagging behind and letting a torch stay on longer than it should, is not taking care. Neither is brushing up against someone."

Scorpius glared up at him, but couldn't do anything.

Lily pulled out her wand, put Driscoll spun on his heels. "_Expelliarmus!_" Lily's wand went flying across the room.

Driscoll turned back to Scorpius. "I thought I had killed you, apparently not. Anyways, I'm glad I didn't. This way is more fun. Don't worry though, I'll let you guys enjoy each other."

With a wave of his wand, Driscoll sent Scorpius's body flying through the air and into the room. Scorpius's locked-up body crashed into Lily, knocking her to the floor with him on top.

"We'll stay in touch."

With that Driscoll slammed the door shut, locking them within.

**. . . . .**

"Yes, _I _know about it, Albus. But why do _you _know about it?" asked Hermione slowly, dreading what the answer might be. Whenever something big and disastrous happened, Scorpius and Albus tended to be somewhere near by.

"Well, um, maybe because it was I who broke in?" said Albus as innocently as he could manage, which wasn't very convincing under the circumstances.

"_What? _This better be a joke, Albus," said Hermione, staring at him.

"Well, if it's any consolation, all of these people were there too. Lily and Scorpius, too, but they are, er, somewhere else at present."

"Albus, you better do some quick explaining," said Hermione, glaring at him.

Albus took a deep breath, and then plunged in. "Basically I was blackmailed by Aubrielle Lestraud. She demanded that I break all the prisoners out of Azkaban, so that her mom could escape in the confusion. I brought in Scorpius to help me. While we were there, it turned out that something else was going on, because Aubrielle was clearly not there only for her mother, but for a few other people as well.

"A fight started between us and them, and that's when Hugo, Monique and Lily showed up. Lily was dragged away by them, and Scorpius followed. We got hindered, and were unable to pursue with Scorpius, so we came back here."

Hermione stared at him as if he had just told her he was a world-class murderer. Albus shifted uncomfortably.

"Will you stop looking at me like that, Aunt?" asked Albus.

"I will look at you exactly however I darn well want to," she said.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't know anything about the blackmail till right now," said Hugo.

"And where do these two gentlemen play in, who are they?" demanded Hermione, indicating Lasair and Meallan.

"Oh, them? They're Hugo's guardian angels," said Albus with a wry smile.

"Hugo's what?" asked Hermione in confusion, looking to Hugo for explanation.

"I don't know if that's exactly what they would call themselves," said Hugo, giving Lasair a grin. He turned back to his mother. "I'm a Diviner, mother."

"A _what_?" gasped Hermione.

They were all surprised by a sudden outburst from Monique. "_Aaaah_, guys, we can't sit around here explaining everything to each other. What's happened just needs to be accepted, at least for now. Lily is out there somewhere, and needs our help!"

"And Scorpius," said Albus.

Hermione pursed her lips. "Right, you're absolutely right. But Miss...?"

"Monique, call me Monique."

"Monique, if you do not know where they are, and I do not either, we need to explain to each other what is going on so we know how to best handle the situation."

Monique opened her mouth, and then closed it again. "Whatever," she muttered.

"You said there were others that Aubrielle needed broken out, who were they?" asked Hermione of Albus.

"Babcock, Driscoll, Bulstrode and Zabini."

Hermione nodded absentmindedly. "I should have seen something like this coming..."

"Aunt, you need to fill us in. We can help. This is my sister and my friend we're talking about," said Albus urgently.

Hermione looked at Albus intensely for a moment, then made her decision. "Okay. But I suppose Rose will want to be involved, too." She snapped her fingers, and a moment later a House Elf appeared by her, out of thin air.

"Yes, Headmistress?" asked the Elf.

"Noll, I need you to go find Rose Weasley and tell her to come to my office right away. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course, Headmistress," said the Elf, and with a crack it disappeared.

"So, what's this about being a Diviner, and who are these two, really?" asked Hermione, turning to her son.

"It's new to me too," said Hugo. "I only just found out like a week ago, when I came into power. You know that birthmark on my left shoulder? Turns out it's one heck of a birthmark. As for these two," he indicated Lasair and Meallan, "they watch over me, apparently."

"Do you talk?" Hermione asked, directing the question at them.

Meallan made something that sounded like a muffled laughing sound in his throat.

"Something like that," said Lasair.

There was a crack, and the House Elf reappeared.

"Well?" asked Hermione.

"Noll apologizes, Headmistress, but Rose Weasley is not in the school at present," said the Elf.

"_What_?" demanded Hermione.

"I do not know where she is, Headmistress, only that she is not within the school grounds," said Noll apologetically.

"Why does she randomly have to run off at a time like this?" asked Hermione, throwing her arms up in exasperation. "Very well, you can go, Noll."

With a crack, Noll vanished.

Hermione sighed. "Do you know why those four wizards, and that witch, were put in Azkaban in the first place?"

Albus shook his head.

"They were convicted for the murder of eleven people, and thievery. They broke into the Ministry and raided the Department of Dark and Forbidden Artifacts. The item they were after was this." Hermione shoved the book she had been looking at before they entered across the table.

"The Culling Blade?" asked Monique, reading the title.

"Yes. It's a very dangerous weapon. Whatever living thing it strikes will over the period of a couple weeks weaken and start to lose control of its body. Eventually it turns into a sort of walking zombie that must obey the commands of the one who drew its blood. At that point it gains its own infernal strength."

Albus looked up at her from beneath dark lashes. "So basically, whoever has it has the power to raise an army."

Hermione nodded. "Either of beasts, or even humans."

"So, Lestraud and them were trying to get this dagger, but got busted. End of story, right?" said Hugo.

"Not exactly," said Hermione. "All five were apprehended, and sent to Azkaban. But the catch is, the dagger wasn't found on any of them. This all was a year ago. Nothing happened for awhile, but just two months ago, things started to happen.

"Some Muggles started to disappear. Mainly guys who we really wouldn't notice. People like construction workers and the like. People who are strong and physical, but wouldn't cause a big fuss if they didn't show up one day. But they weren't the only ones, orphans and homeless people started to disappear in mass. As well as dogs from the pound.

"Of course this eventually caught our attention. We started to investigate, but weren't able to turn up with much until we found this dog who had been too sickly to survive the effects of the Culling Blade.

"We recognized the symptoms on the body, but this was only a couple of weeks ago. And realize that when I say 'we', I mean the Aurors and such. The Ministry just dragged me in because they value my opinion.

"Anyways, so we agreed to have a Ministry Official's meeting to discuss what was going on- that took place today. Nothing much was solved, and we didn't really think that Lestraud and her crew could be behind it. We thought that since they were all safely locked up in Azkaban, that they couldn't be involved. But what you said makes me wonder if Aubrielle has been carrying on their plans from outside Azkaban, all the while planning on how to get them out..." Hermione trailed off in thought.

"So what do we do? Do you think that they took Lily to wherever they're hiding these victims of the Culling Blade?" asked Albus.

"Quite possibly, but we have no clue yet where that is. There's nothing really that we _can _do. Unless we hear something from Scorpius. At this point I think we have to go about things as if he was captured by them."

"But he may be dead or something," began Albus angrily.

"And what do you propose to do?" snapped Hermione, losing her temper briefly.

"I don't know, something," he said.

"Well maybe if you hadn't broken into Azkaban, things wouldn't be nearly as badly as they are, and Scorpius wouldn't be in danger!" said Hermione, her voice rising in volume.

Albus's face went as white as a sheet. "Yo- you don't understand. I was blackmailed. I was protecting Scorpius. I couldn't _not _do it."

Hermione felt the anger flooding out of her. Albus looked young and tired, his face pale and miserable looking between the darkness of his hair and jacket.

"I'm sorry, Albus," she said, rubbing the back of her hand across her eyes wearily. "I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. Of course I believe you. If you say you had no choice, you had no choice."

Albus looked relieved.

"But unless you know something that you haven't told me, what can we do? We have to wait and let the Aurors try and find out where they're located."

"And if they haven't had any luck so far, what's to say they'll be able to find them now?" asked Monique.

"The longer criminals run their crime, the more times they have to screw up," said Hermione. "Either they'll keep doing what they've been doing, and we'll catch them in the act, or be able to follow them back to their hiding place. Or, they'll actually unleash their army, and then we won't _have _to go looking for them."

"And in the mean time, what are we supposed to do? Act like everything's normal?" demanded Albus.

"Yes. Go to your classes, be yourselves."

"You don't think someone will notice that certain students are missing?" asked Monique wryly.

"They probably will, and then I'll have to give an explanation of some sort. Until then, we must do what we can to keep up an image of normalcy."

"You're kidding me," said Albus under his breath.

"Why? Would you have me send the whole school into panic and worry, Albus? Tell me, is that what you would do?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know. I guess I just hate feeling like I'm not doing anything to help my friend," said Albus.

"We all feel that way, Albus. Believe me," said Hermione quietly. "It's always worse when it's someone you know who's in danger, and not yourself. I've faced a lot of that over the years."

Albus shook his head, and turned and left the room. He was followed by Monique.

Hugo stared at his mother. "Did you know?"

"Of course I didn't," she said.

"You must have. You know more than anyone else alive. You must have seen the mark and known it for what it was."

"I think we should go," whispered Meallan to Lasair.

"No. Stay," said Hugo. "You knew, I know you knew."

"I may have guessed," admitted Hermione. "But I was never sure."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. "I've gone through my whole life up until this point thinking that I was nothing. That there was absolutely nada that separated me from the rest of the kids. I thought the only way to be unique was to try and be as funny and relaxed as possible. But there was no need, no need at all. Look at me, I'm a Diviner for crying out loud!"

"Hugo, you _are _special. And you would be even if you weren't a Diviner. It's not what you can do that makes you unique. It's who you are," said Hermione.

Hugo looked surprised, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. "But...but I want people to give me recognition. I want to feel accomplished."

"Hugo, even if others won't, _we _will give you all the recognition you need. We, you're family. We love you and you don't need to do anything, or be anything, to be accomplished to us. We're proud of you no matter what."

"But that's not what _I _want. For me, myself, I want to do things. I want to be able to look at myself and feel content. I don't want just my family to proud of me, I want Hugo Weasley to be proud of me."

Hermione did not know what to say to this, and was caught momentarily speechless.

"I'm going to help save Scorpius and Lily, and maybe even England. Watch me do it. I've got something to prove, and I will," said Hugo, his brown eyes hard and determined. He looked up at Lasair and Meallan standing on either side of him. "Let's go."

"Alright," said Lasair quietly.

The three turned and walked from the room.

Hugo couldn't quite be sure, because their eyes were such a deep, crystal blue. But when he had looked up at the brothers, he almost thought he recognized satisfaction in their eyes while they looked down at him.

**Author's Note:**

**I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving and are already looking forward to Christmas! I know I am. Anyways, don't forget to review people! =D =D =D**


	21. Passing the Time

**Author's Note:**

**The next chapter! Thankfully, it wasn't that hard to slip back into this story and characters. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 21: Passing the Time

"Well. This sucks," said Scorpius with finality.

"Look on the bright side. They didn't take our wands away," said Lily cheerily.

"Oh yeah, that makes me feel sooo much better," said Scorpius sarcastically. "You do realize that if they let us keep our wands, all that means is that they're useless to us?"

"Maybe not," said Lily optimistically. "There must be a week point somewhere in this room." She was moving from window to window, checking to see if any of them would open.

"Ugh. Whoever built this place has a dreadful fashion sense. Look at those covers. They're magenta. Gah. Terrible." Scorpius was taking the opportunity to survey the room. An expensive looking Persian rug covered the floor. A King-sized fourposter with magenta bedclothes was the only furniture. Two windows adorned one wall on either side of the bed. "Rather sparse this room is. What an insulting way to house someone."

"Drat. Magically sealed," said Lily in annoyance, after trying both windows. "Well, Scorpius, I don't think your personal comfort is high up on their list of to-do's."

"But magenta?" complained the blonde boy. "That's just too much."

Lily heaved a sigh of annoyance. "What's wrong with magenta?" she demanded.

"It's a horrible color, just horrible," said Scorpius, shaking his head as if this much was obvious just by looking at the bed.

Lily glared at him in annoyance from where she stood on the other side of the fourposter, in front of the window. "Stop complaining, will you?" She turned to look thoughtfully at the window.

Scorpius slipped across the room, coming up silently behind Lily. He gazed with just as much rapture at the back of her head and slender neck as she did at the window.

Realizing he was staring, and that his mind was wandering in a rather unseemly direction. Scorpius shook his head violently. Inwardly he cursed redheads. _It's the hair, it's all the hair, I know it. Dratted color. It's completely irresistible_.

Scorpius was rudely woken from his thoughts as Lily- still not realizing he was behind her- shot a spell at the window. The jet of light struck the glass only to rebound right back at her. With surprisingly quick reflexes Lily ducked. Scorpius only just managed to shift out of the way as the spell shot by him.

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" barked a disgruntled Scorpius at Lily.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were there," said Lily in equal annoyance. "Watch out!" she yelled out in surprise.

Not even bothering to turn around, Scorpius simply looped one of his arms around Lily's slim waist, and dived to the side and onto the bed.

Struggling to a kneeling position on the now-rumpled covers, Scorpius just caught sight of the jet of light striking the window once more, and reflecting off in his direction. "_Protego!_" he bellowed just in time to dissipate the jinx.

Scorpius glared down at Lily, who hadn't bothered to move from where Scorpius had tossed her on the bed. "Next time you try to kill us both, please warn me."

Now Lily was the one struggling to a more dignified position. "I was only trying to find a way out of here," she said angrily.

"I told you there's going to be no way out," snapped Scorpius.

"Yeah, and I should listen to you because you're _always _right?"

"Exactly," said Scorpius with smug confidence and sincerity.

Lily made a noise some where between a cry and a choke, and threw her hands up in the air. "You're impossible!"

"Thank you. Though I think you've said that before," pointed out Scorpius helpfully.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked around, and finding absolutely nothing else to bother trying to do, or anywhere else to find a seat, she stayed where she was. "So, what do we do now? We need something to pass the time. Who knows when someone will come to get us."

"Well," said Scorpius, a gleam in his eye and a wicked grin on his face, "here we have two members of the opposite gender, a bed, and a locked door- what else could you possibly_ want_ to do?"

Lily stared at him in a moment of complete surprise, then grabbed one of the large pillows and clouted Scorpius over the head- knocking him from the bed to the floor. " You're disgusting and repulsive!" she yelled at him.

Scorpius was ruefully rubbing his rear end. "Well, fine, if you're going to take it that way...I was only joking."

"Hmph. Yeah right," said Lily chucking the pillow at Scorpius head, and crossing her arms in indignation.

"Well, then what do you suggest?" asked Scorpius, getting off the floor and depositing himself on the end of bed, as far from Lily as he could get.

"I don't know...Oh, how could I forget!" she exclaimed.

"Because you're a Potter?" muttered Scorpius to himself.

Lily fished around in the pockets of her robe, and grabbed out a small book. She brandished it in triumph. "We'll read!" she declared.

"Read what?" demanded Scorpius. "What is that thing?"

"Twelfth Night, of course."

"Surely you jest," said Scorpius, gaping in open mouthed surprise at the redhead.

"Why would I?" Lily said in affronted annoyance.

"Why do you even still have that junk?"

"I've been reading it. I find it quite captivating really," confessed Lily.

Scorpius stared at her as if she had just fallen from Mars. "I couldn't respect you less if you said you liked Hannah Montana."

"Wha-" began Lily in outrage.

"Hold that," said Scorpius, looking thoughtful. "No, that was definitely a gross overstatement. Shakespeare should never be put in the category of Hannah Montana, that's just not right. But still, you get the idea."

"There is nothing wrong with Twelfth Night!" cried Lily.

"Certainly not, did I ever say there was anything wrong with Hannah Montana?" asked Scorpius innocently.

"What?" asked Lily, looking confused now. "But you said- oh, never mind. Would you like me to read or not?"

"Certainly," said Scorpius placidly.

"Alright then. Here we go."

**. . . . . .**

Albus sulked into the Great Hall. He was not in the greatest mood. The strain and worry for Scorpius and Lily was wearing on him. It didn't help that it was his fault that either of them had even been at Azkaban in the first place.

Keeping the fact that Scorpius was gone, a secret, was not as hard as Albus had at first thought it would be. Nobody, as far as he could tell, had yet realized that he was in fact missing. Scorpius ditched classes all the time, so no one really noticed his absence from there. And the only other place his disappearance would really be noticeable would be at night. Even there though, Albus's roommates were not yet suspicious. Albus figured that it must come from the fact that it wasn't that rare for Scorpius to sneak out during the wee hours to go to pubs and the like.

Albus moodily started to spear the food on his plate. It was lunch time on Monday, so it had been less than a day since they had returned- still, it was almost too much to bear already.

A flash of familiar red-gold hair made Albus groan in apprehension.

"So," said Babcock, "where is he?"

Albus gazed back at her across the table. "Where is he?" Albus echoed innocently.

"You know perfectly well what I mean." Surprisingly, Babcock's doe eyes were serious and solemn.

"If you mean your pet toad Roger, I wouldn't have a clue," said Albus dryly.

"This isn't a laughing matter," snapped Babcock, leaning across the table and slamming a paper down in front of Albus's face.

"What's this?" demanded Albus, glaring at Babcock.

"Read," she ordered.

Albus looked down—and swallowed. The article title read: "Mass Breakout of Azkaban, Many Prisoners Die in Attempt to Escape."

"What of it?" asked Albus, looking up at Babcock once more.

"Don't be coy with me," snapped the Ravenclaw. "I know that you and Malfoy were not at the school almost all of yesterday. And what, there just happens to be a large breakout? Let's not forget that, lo and behold, Malfoy is not here today either."

"Maybe he snuck out to a bar or something," Albus said.

Babcock snorted. "I'm not stupid, Potter. I am in Ravenclaw after all. Come to think of it, I don't recall seeing your sister either today or yesterday as well."

Albus blinked in surprise. He never would have supposed that Babcock even took notice of his sister at all.

"What do you want, Babcock?"

"I _want_," said Babcock stiffly, gazing at him with almost pleading eyes, "to know where my boyfriend is, and that he's okay."

Albus was shook for a second. It had never occurred to him for a even a moment that Babcock might _actually _care about the well being of Scorpius.

"I can't answer either of those questions," said Albus, refraining from making eye contact with Babcock. "But we're working on it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked the girl quietly.

"There are big things afoot. Aurors are involved."

"If something happens—if you find out anything, anything at all—will you tell me? Please?" begged Babcock, her eyes wide and vulnerable.

Albus nodded slowly. "As soon as I learn anything, I'll let you know."

"Thank you," she whispered, rising to her feet and striding away in a swirl of robes. Albus watched her go in a mixture of surprise and—was it?- relief.

**. . . . . .**

"Ugh, I hate this," said Hugo. He stood on the far shore of the lake, as far from the castle as was possible. Lasair and Meallan flanked him on either side.

"What?" asked Lasair in concern.

"This not knowing of how to control my powers. What good do they do me if they only act up randomly?"

"Patience, young friend. Knowledge of your abilities will grow in time."

"Time is what we don't have," said Hugo in frustration. "Every minute that goes by could bring both Scorpius and Lily closer to death." He plucked a stone from beneath the snow, and, without hesitation, sent it skipping across the calm surface of the water. For some reason the lake hadn't frozen over, even though snow covered the entirety of the grounds.

Meallan and Lasair exchanged a look. "When your powers are needed, they will act up," said Meallan.

"Gah," said Hugo with feeling, giving the snow a good kick. "My powers are needed now."

**. . . . . .**

"_My stars shine darkly over me: the malignancy of my fate might perhaps distemper yours; therefore I shall crave of you your leave that I may bear my evils alone: it were a bad recompense for your love, to lay any of them on you._"

"That's my favorite line of the whole play," said Scorpius, lying on the bed and gazing up at the ceiling.

Lily lowered the book slightly. "Oh? Why's that?"

Scorpius shrugged, still not looking at her. "I think it applies to my life more than any of the rest."

Lily stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think it would be rather obvious," said Scorpius, rolling onto his side and looking at her. "I think that I would mean that it applies to my life more than any of the rest."

Lily made a strangled noise. "Yes, but why does it apply more?"

His brilliant blue eyes were a piercing contrast to the paleness of his skin as he answered her. "I think it works out perfectly with how I feel about making Albus bear my darkness, after all he's done for me."

"What are you talking about? _Your darkness_?" snapped Lily. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Oh, I'm not being ridiculous at all," said Scorpius softly.

Lily opened her mouth to reply, but was distracted by the scar on Scorpius's face. "Scorpius, that wound, on your face."

"What about it?" asked Scorpius mildly.

"It almost seems to be pulsating..." said Lily in disbelief. "It's almost an ice-blue color."

"Oh?" asked Scorpius, sounding completely unconcerned.

"It almost looks like-" Lily bent forward, stretching out her hand to touch the scar.

Scorpius spasmed away from her, as if she had burned him- but she hadn't even touched him.

"Scorpius-" she began in surprise.

"Don't- touch- me-" he snarled, smacking her hand away.

"Okay," said Lily in surprise, "but why?"

Scorpius was now in a sitting position, and he turned away from her, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the bed. "Just- just don't."

Lily couldn't help but stare at his back in bewilderment. "Did you ever see a Mediwizard about that?" she asked.

"Nope," he said hollowly. "Only Babcock."

Lily flinched visibly at the name, but Scorpius didn't notice- having his back to her and all.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" she asked.

"Nope," said Scorpius.

"Scorpius-" began Lily in exasperation.

"Is it really pulsating blue?" he interrupted.

"Why- why yes, I'd say so," said Lily. Even though he was facing away, she could see him nod in response.

"Figures," he muttered.

A moment of silence seemed to stretch out between them. To Lily it seemed almost as if it was visible as a very fine string that could be snapped with the lightest of touches. She opened her mouth to say something, but never got the chance to let it out.

For just then Scorpius let out a yell of pain, and collapsed off the bed and to the floor.

"Scorpius!" cried out Lily in alarm, scrambling across the fourposter.

Scorpius was rolling back and forth on the ground, still yelling in pain.

Lily fell to her knees beside him on the rug. "Scorpius, what's the matter? What's happening?"

"It's cold, _cold_," screamed the blonde boy.

"What is?" asked Lily desperately. She caught sight of the scar as Scorpius rolled so that he faced her- it pulsated even more brightly than before, and seemed to have grown in size.

Seizing Scorpius's shoulder with one hand, Lily reached out and touched his cheek where the scar was- and had to jerk back instantly. Scorpius's skin was so cold that it stung her just to touch it.

"Gggguuurrr," gurgled Scorpius, snapping away from her. "Heat! _Heat_!" he screamed.

Lily looked around hopelessly for something to help her out. She slapped herself mentally as she realized that she didn't _need _anything, she was a witch, wasn't she?

"_Flamma_!" said Lily quickly, pointing her wand just above Scorpius. A small, rotating sphere of fire burst into life.

The flame seemed to help Scorpius. For he slowly stopped rolling back and forth, and the blue tinge of skin lessened somewhat. He stopped yelling out in pain, and instead just lay there silently, his eyes closed in rest.

Lily sat quietly beside Scorpius, not saying anything, just waiting, hoping, and wondering. At last, he slowly pulled his eyes open, and looked at her.

"Hello," he said.

Lily stared at him.

"Hello?" he said again.

"You make me wonder if your dead and then all you can say is 'hello'?" Lily screamed as she grabbed a pillow from the bed and smashed Scorpius over the head with it.

"Will you stop doing that?" Scorpius demanded, as he rolled out from beneath the fire and another blow from Lily at the same time.

"What just happened?" demanded Lily, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him, the pillow still clutched tightly in her grip.

"You know just about as well as me," snapped Scorpius, getting to his feet and glaring just as fiercely back at the redhead.

"What exactly is up with that scar?" she asked.

"I wish I knew," grumbled Scorpius. "All I know is that my face feels like it's a chunk of ice, and it's slowly spreading down my neck as the time passes."

"What was that fit just there?" asked Lily.

"My face started hurting agonizingly from the cold. Geez, do you have to drag everything out of me?" complained Scorpius.

"And what, it's just better now?"

"It would seem so. It slowly started to fade after you conjured the fire."

"Do you think there was some kind of curse on that knife that Zabini used on you?"

"No way, there couldn't have been," said Scorpius, his voice dripping sarcasm.

Lily chucked the pillow at his head.

Scorpius ducked.

"Will you please stop doing that?" he complained once more.

"You are _so _irritating," gasped Lily. "All I'm doing is trying to be helpful."

"Well, you aren't. There's nothing that can be done about it right now, so just drop it," said Scorpius angrily.

"Then _fine_. I'm going to read more Twelfth Night," snapped Lily, clambering back onto the fourposter and setting herself up against one of the remaining pillows.

"You _do _that," said Scorpius sulkily, sitting on the ground by the fire and folding his arms.

"Hmph," said Lily, shifting through the book until she found the spot they had been at.

Scorpius grumbled something under his breath before falling silent.

Neither said anything for a full ten minutes, and then as if it was the natural thing to do, Lily started to read out loud.

Scorpius didn't object.

**Author's Note:**

**Alright, just so you know, I don't think there is anything wrong with Hannah Montana, for any of her fans that might be reading this. =P Also, the quote is obviously from Twelfth Night, as you probably gathered... Anyways, don't forget to leave a review! More to come within a week's time!**


	22. Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there! I know this was a little over a week since my last post, but it's because there isn't internet where there used to be internet. So don't blame me, please =P Anyways, Merry Christmas! Hope everyone is enjoying the season. =D**

Chapter 22: Unexpected

Albus sighed. He stared off over the black expanse that was the Great Lake, his fingers playing idly with the wand in the pocket of his robes. The icy winter wind tugged at his dark locks, pulling them across his eyes. In response he flicked the hood of his heavy wool cloak up, protecting his face from the cold air.

There was no moon or stars tonight, Albus guessed it must be overcast, but couldn't know for sure. For all he saw when he looked up was darkness.

The only light came from the castle behind him, but its comforting glow was too far away to illuminate much.

Bending over, Albus brushed some snow aside, searching for a rock. He let out a little sigh of pain as his knuckle cracked against something hard. Grumbling about stones and the dark, he fumbled around until his hand clasped on one he liked the shape of. With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent the pebble soaring out over the lake, not knowing his cousin did the same thing earlier that day. He was rewarded with a soft _plonk_. Even though he thought there was no one to hear him, he mumbled that of course the reason he didn't get any good skips was because it was too dark to see. To his surprise, someone _did _answer him.

"It's alright, I think we can overlook it this once," said a light voice from somewhere off to his left.

Albus let out a little yelp of surprise, turning and gazing into the darkness to see who it could be. He could vaguely make out a shape standing less than ten feet from him, but his lack of night vision made it impossible for him to tell who it was.

"Whoa, you scare easily, Potter. Especially for being the son of the great Wizard who defeated Voldemort himself." The voice danced lightly in the darkness, humor evident in the tone.

Albus let out a little sigh, recognizing the voice of his company. "Hallo, Baddock."

"Hallo, Potter."

"What brings you out here, after dark? Stalking me are we, Baddock?"

"Hah, not quite, Potter." The light crunch of boots on snow cut through the night air like a knife going through an over-ripe banana. As Baddock approached him and stopped less than a foot away from him, Albus could make out the shimmer of red-gold hair that flowed out of a deep emerald cloak.

"Then what brings you out here, breaking rules?" inquired Albus.

A slight shrug of shoulders. "You and Scorpius aren't the only ones who can break rules as easily as breathing."

Albus let out a little laugh, despite himself. "People generally say that Scorpius instigates most of it, but that's not true. I've lead him into more trouble than he's ever taken me into."

"Really?" asked Baddock, curiosity eminent in her voice.

"Oh yeah," said Albus, turning back to look over the lake. "Scorpius just likes to take the blame. He's not like anyone else."

Baddock's light, flowing laugh issued forth from the hood of her cloak. "I think you can say that last bit again."

"I know him better than anyone else, I think. But I'll never be able to understand him completely. He portrays himself as a person with much lower morals than he actually has. He always pretends like he'd have sex with girls at a moment's notice, but he'd never do that. He believes too much in purity of a relationship between a married man and woman, like what he's seen with-" here there was a brief hesitation, "with his mother and father. He always disappears for hours on end, and then comes back claiming that he drunk the night away- only he never has any hangovers."

"Well," interrupted Baddock, "couldn't he just have used some sort of charm to remove the headache and effects?"

"That's what I always thought," admitted Albus, "until a night only about a week ago. I went out searching for him with Hugo, because I was worried about him. We found him outside a bar, claiming that he had become so drunk that he had made low advances on one of the barmaids, but then been thrown out by the owner of the pub.

"We went back in and got some more drinks, and while Scorpius was in the bathroom, I apologized to the owner for him. The thing is, the owner said he hadn't seen Scorpius for over a week. Well, then we all drank our hearts out- or at least that's what I thought at the time. But later that night, Hugo came into his power—did we tell you he's a Diviner? Oh, yeah, well he is. I know it's a big shocker—well, Scorpius leapt forward and started running back and forth trying to help Hugo. He was completely stable on his feet, and looked as good as ever—not exactly the signs of someone who just drunk as much as he had claimed. Well, I passed out then, seeing as I actually _did _drink a ton of alcohol. But later, as I thought back on it, I couldn't actually remember Scorpius touching even his first drink." Albus fell silent, not sure why exactly he was telling Baddock this. He had never told this to anybody else, and he barely knew Baddock. And what things he did know weren't exactly endearing qualities.

"I've noticed it too," said Baddock softly. Albus looked up in surprise, but he didn't have the chance to make a comment. "Not about the drinking or the girls, but I've noticed the same thing in other ways. Scorpius has a reputation for making cruel jokes of people, and tormenting them. But if you really pay attention to how he does it, he only really targets people he knows are confident about themselves and can take it. You'll never find him teasing mercilessly those who are the easiest to make fun of, he only goes for those he believes well just shake it off and not be bothered by it."

Albus let his mind click back over past memories, thinking about what Baddock had said. He relived countless times that Scorpius had made someone the butt of his jokes, but he couldn't find a time that contradicted what Baddock had said.

"Why do you think he does it? Why does he make people think he's so terrible, when he really isn't?" asked Baddock.

"Honestly, and not to be an ego maniac or anything, I think it's because of me."

Baddock laughed lightly. "You know, not everything in this world is always about you, Albus." A small jolt of pleasure shot through Albus as she used his first name. She had never done that before. He could feel the heat rising to his cheeks, and he quickly thanked any gods that were out there for the darkness.

"No, believe me when I say, I think I know more than anyone that not everything out there about me. This is going to sound so weird, though..."

"Go on. How weird can it be? I'm listening."

Albus mused quietly for a moment, before speaking out. "I think it all goes back to Scorpius thinking I'm a better person than I really am." He paused for a moment, but Baddock didn't say anything, so he continued on. "For some reason Scorpius thinks I'm near perfect. He thinks I embody all the 'good' traits that are out there. And in his mind, rather than contend with that and constantly be measured up against that, he would prefer to just be a horrible person who everybody despises next to me."

"So," said Baddock, speaking slowly, "basically he's scared that his best would never be able to compare to you, so he'd rather be his worst?"

"I know, it sounds silly, doesn't it? But clearly, as we've both just said, he isn't his worst. He just makes everyone else think he's his worst."

"It's not silly, what you said makes sense," said Baddock. "I never realized you put so much thought into things."

Albus snorted. "You thought all of us Gryffindors were all hey ha and bravery and run into the fight?"

She shrugged. It was a smooth, elegant motion. Albus was struck once more on how similar Scorpius and Baddock really were in some ways.. "I don't know what I thought. I knew Scorpius wasn't just that, but I always thought he was special and different."

"He is special and different. Far more than I possibly am," said Albus.

"I don't know about that. I think I'm starting to learn more and more that everyone is special. It just takes time to get to know them, and see their uniqueness in action."

Once more Albus found himself gaping at Baddock in surprise. Was this really the Ravenclaw he had thought was all just huff and show and shallowness?

There was a moment of silence before Baddock spoke. "You know, I'm aware that he doesn't care about me in the slightest."

Albus blinked in surprise, and turned to look at her. But of course the night and the hood of her cloak worked together to shield any emotion on her face.

"Then why do you go along with it?" he asked.

Even though he didn't specify what "it" was, Baddock knew what he meant.

Again, the elegant shrug.

"Maybe so that I would get the allusion that someone cared for me," said Baddock.

"And Scorpius was a good one to pick for that, how?" asked Albus, though he spoke gently.

"That's true. I guess I really don't know why I did it. Maybe it's because _I_ actually do care for _him_."

"But you don't even really know him, do you?" asked Albus in surprise.

"Well, maybe not on the level where I could just go up to him and talk about anything. But you'd be surprised how well you can feel you know someone, just by watching what they do everyday, what they say."

"So, basically you're admitting that you stalk him?"

Baddock snorted. "If that's really what you want to call it, go ahead, Albus. Personally I think people that always freak out when someone watches them or notices something about them are ridiculous. There's nothing perverted or weird about it. If you're so freaked when someone notices that you wore a nice pair of shoes one day, why would you wear the damn shoes?"

"You have a point," said Albus.

"I'm a Ravenclaw, we always have points," said Baddock.

"Too true."

They stood in silence for a few minutes. They looked out across the still lake, each lost in his or her own thoughts.

Suddenly, something large and heavy landed on Albus's shoulder. Something sharp pinched into his skin on both sides. He looked up in surprise, ready to cry out, when he say two gleaming gold orbs staring back into his.

"Whoa, hey there, fella," said Albus in bewilderment.

Baddock looked over, but—again because of the combination of the darkness and the hood—he couldn't tell if there was any emotion on her face. "That's a whopping big owl," said Baddock, impressed.

"Yeah, I wonder what's he doing here," said Albus.

Baddock snorted. "He couldn't possibly be delivering a letter, could he?"

"Well, of course," said Albus in annoyance, "but why didn't he go straight to the Owlry?"

"Maybe because the letter is for you?" said Baddock in a tone that made Albus feel certain she had raised her eyebrows at him.

"Right," muttered Albus, reaching up and feeling for the owl's leg. He felt for the knot, and after a couple seconds of struggle, managed to free it and get the envelope in his hand.

Instantly the owl took off, flying into the night.

"Wait a second," called Albus after him. "What if I need to reply?" The owl didn't turn back. "Weird," muttered Albus. He turned to Baddock. "Could you shed some light over here?"

Baddock cast a glance up at the castle, but then slipped out her wand. "_Lumos_!"

Light blossomed out over the plain envelope in Albus's hand. There were no marking of any sort, nothing to show who it was from.

He looked up to see Baddock watching his face. He gave her a shrug before turning back to his mail.

Opening it up, he found three parchments inside. Two were maps, the third was a note. One was a map of England. In a short scrawl were written directions on one corner, and there was an inked out path up along the east coast. The second was a map of just the east coast. Once again, there were directions and a path marked out that lead to an island off the coast.

Albus flipped over to the note, and read this:

Potter,

Your friend and sister are here. As of yet neither have been injured further than when you last saw them. I have enclosed maps that will direct you right to where we are. Not counting me and my father, there are ten Witches and Wizards here who are fully capable of fighting. Aside from that, there's a small army of those infected by the Culling Blade. If you don't know what that means, go look it up. I contacted you because I knew you would understand. I'm doing this for my father. In return for all of the information I'm giving you, I ask for my father's pardon. He is ready to turn himself in and help the Aurors in any way he can. For your sake, I urge you to act quickly. Malfoy only has so much time.

Sincerely,

Babcock

Albus could do nothing but stare at the parchment in his hand. Meanwhile, Baddock had slipped up behind him, and was reading over his shoulder.

"And what does all this mean, exactly?" asked Baddock.

"What means what?" repeated Albus, trying to focus his thoughts.

"Well, the Culling Blade, for one," she said.

"It's a long story, but in a nutshell Babcock's, Zabini's, Bulstrode's, and Lestraud's parents all tried to use the Culling Blade to take over the world. They were stopped, or so everyone thought. However, a bit later signs of the Culling Blade's reappearance showed up. Then Lestraud blackmailed me into helping her free her mother and her mother's friends. Scorpius got dragged in, as well as Hugo, Lily and Monique. Things went badly and Scorpius and Lily got taken."

"Finally, that's nice to know. I'm glad I'm being brought in on things. So the Culling Blade infects people? And what does he mean about Malfoy only having so much time?"

"Yeah, the Culling Blade makes people weaker and weaker, and crushes their will. Eventually all they do is serve whoever it was that infected them."

"If they're so weak, how are they useful?"

"Apparently by that time they have a new power of their own. As for what he meant about Scorpius, I don't know. He could just have meant that eventually he won't be so fortunate as he has been."

"If that's the case, then why didn't he mention your sister, too?" asked Baddock softly.

"I don't know," said Albus, his forehead wrinkling in thought.

"So, what do we do?"

Albus looked up in surprise at Baddock. The light from her wand served to illuminate her face, and he could see her green, doe eyes watching him carefully from between the soft folds of her gorgeous hair.

"Do? We?" he echoed.

"Of course, you don't think I wouldn't insist on coming with you?" asked Baddock.

Albus grinned. "Alright. In that case, you're going to need your broom."

"Okay, you promise me you won't leave before I get back?" Her eyes were pleading, and she even grabbed his hand as if it would help convince him. At first Albus just stared at her in surprise, bewildered that she wouldn't just believe him straight up. Then he realized that maybe that her past experience with people hadn't been ones to make her quickly trust.

"Yes, I promise," he said.

"I'll be right back," she said with a smile. Giving his hand a quick squeeze, she turned off the light from her wand, and slipped into the darkness.

Albus made out her vague shape heading not toward the entrance hall as he had expected—even though he knew it would be locked by now—but off around the edge of the school. He thought of running after her and questioning her, but he figured she knew what she was doing. She probably either had her broom hidden around somewhere, so that she could fly to one of the towers, or, more likely, she knew a secret entrance into the school. Hogwarts was a legend in its mysterious, magical ways, and no one had ever managed to figure out all of its secrets. It was more than likely there were passageways that Albus knew nothing of.

Albus waited in nervous apprehension. His stomach felt like it was twisting in his belly, just like it always did before a Quidditch match. He was eager to be on his way. He wanted to find Scorpius and Lily and get them out of trouble before anything else could happen to them. It was his fault that they were in any predicament in the first place.

It could only have been fifteen minutes before Baddock returned, but to Albus it felt like longer. She appeared out of nowhere, laying her hand on his shoulder from behind. Albus leapt almost a foot in the air.

"Zounds! Don't do that, Baddock, you scared the hell out of me," said Albus. To his great annoyance, Baddock was clearly trying to stifle laughter.

"Great Albus Potter, given a scare by a girl touching him." Albus could practically _hear _the smirk in her voice.

"Whatever," he muttered. "You have your broom?"

"In hand," she said cheerfully.

"_Accio broom_!" he hissed. A couple of moments passed and then Albus's broom came whistling through the air and nudged gently up against him.

Mounting, he turned to Baddock. "You ready?"

As she followed suit, he saw her head turn to look at him. "Hell yeah."

The next second two dark shapes were hurtling through the English night sky.


	23. No Use

**Author's Note:**

**AuthoressMegz: I just wanted to say thanks so much for the review. Reviews anytime are great, and they're just more great when they actually point out specific things in the story, like yours did. =] Her first name is Elsa. I think I mentioned that before, but it was only like once, so I can understand it being missed or forgotten.**

Chapter 23: No Use

Somebody tapped Scorpius on the shoulder. Scorpius's eyelids opened slowly, and he blinked away sleep.

It was dark in the room. Scorpius figured it must be sometime in the middle of the night. Lily was sleeping on the fourposter, and Scorpius—having decided that it would be distinctly awkward for the two of them to spend the night in the same bed—was on the floor, having made himself as comfortable as he could with a pillow.

A figure that was definitely human was bending over Scorpius, and whoever it was had his hand on Scorpius's shoulder. Scorpius didn't hesitate, but fired his fist up. He smiled smugly as his punch connected with an audible crunch in the dead-center of the person's face.

A long string of fine oaths filled the room as Scorpius's "attacker" -or whatever the person was—stumbled back, clutching his nose.

Lily, waking with the noise, shot straight up in bed. "What the hell?" she said in surprise.

"Get a light," yelled Scorpius, jumping to his feet and launching himself at his attacker.

"Where's my wand?" demanded Lily.

Scorpius didn't answer as he was now busy scrabbling about on the floor, dealing blows to the intruder who was desperately trying to get away from him while still swearing fiercely.

"Get- off- of- _me_!" bellowed Scorpius's victim, who promptly turned and struck Scorpius across the head. Before Scorpius had the time to respond his assailant kicked out and knocked Scorpius's feet out from under him, taking him to the floor once more.

Scorpius was slow to move, and suddenly had whoever-it-was pinning him to the floor. He struggled against the intruder, but it was in vain. His limbs felt heavy and unresponsive. A numbness seemed to have settled on his body during the night, and he didn't have the control over it—or the strength—that he was used to.

"_Lumos_!" said Lily, who had finally gotten a hold of her wand in the darkness.

Scorpius stared up in bewilderment to find a disgruntled and bloody-nosed Babcock sitting on top of him.

"Lily, hex him!" cried Scorpius.

"Wait, Potter, wait by God," yelled Babcock. "I'm on your side."

"And why should we trust you?" asked Lily.

"Yes, why?" asked Scorpius.

"Because," said Babcock, pausing and briefly releasing one of Scorpius's arms to wipe away blood that had been trickling down into his mouth, "you have no choice."

"Oh?" asked Scorpius. "The way I see it is that Lily could just stun you, and the two of us could just walk out the door and find our way out of here."

"Without setting off the alarms? I doubt it," said Babcock.

"You could be bluffing," pointed out Scorpius.

Babcock rolled his eyes. "Merlin, Malfoy, you're frustrating."

"I keep telling him that," said Lily.

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Yes, this subject keeps tending to repeat itself."

"Look, if you don't want to hear me out, whatever. But why would I be here, in the middle of the night?" asked Babcock.

"Well, I'm pretty dashingly good looking, and your sexual preferences have always been a bit ambiguous," said Scorpius.

Babcock made a horrified choking noise, and leapt back and off of Scorpius. "You're _disgusting_," he said, clearly repulsed.

"I also keep telling him _that _as well," said Lily with satisfaction.

With as much dignity as he could manage, Scorpius slowly drew himself to his feet. "You blokes just don't know the meaning of the word," he said in an injured tone.

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Who cares, anyway?" demanded Babcock. "We need to get some things straight so that I can get out of here. If I get caught being with you two it's the end of me, and mostly likely you Gryffindor idiots as well."

"Calling us idiots won't exactly insure cooperation," pointed out Lily.

"The vixen's right. Apologize and kiss our hands," said Scorpius, proffering his out.

"Yeah, right," muttered Babcock.

Scorpius gave his hand a little shake, as if it was waiting.

"Shut up, we need to move on."

"First we-" began Scorpius, but Lily decided she didn't want to risk what Babcock had said earlier.

"Yes, Babcock? So, what do you have to say?"

"First off, I'm on your side. If things come to a pinch, you can count on me. My dad should be in as well. I just need to...convince him."

"What does that mean?" demanded Lily. Scorpius just seemed to be pouting that Babcock hadn't kissed his hand.

"It means that he's had enough of this whole thing, just like me, but he doesn't think he'll get any pardon from the Ministry."

"And will he?"

"I don't know," said Babcock, hesitant. "I'm hoping that if we both help out, and try and come clean, that we'll both be let off. But we'll have to wait and see as to that. Anyways, I sent a letter to Potter."

"Albus?" asked Scorpius in surprise, forgetting—for the moment at least—his injury at not getting the apology and peck on the hand.

"Yes, that would be him," said Babcock dryly. "I gave him a map to the castle. Hopefully at this very moment he'll be on his way, and have a horde of Ministry officials and Aurors coming along after him."

"Let's hope," said Scorpius, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy. "Now, I want to know about this Culling Blade. Can you shed some light on the situation, seeing as you're the 'keeper' of the thing?"

Babcock bit his lip, and looked away. At last he said, "Actually, I'm not the keeper. I was supposed to be, once my dad and his colleagues got caught. However, it turned out I didn't have the stomach to do it."

"It's that blade Zabini cut me with? Isn't it? And he's the actual keeper?" asked Scorpius harshly.

Babcock nodded.

"And is that what's affecting me? Is that why I have almost no mobility anymore and have this searing chill all the time?"

Babcock nodded again.

"What's the end result?" asked Scorpius sharply.

Babcock refused to make eye contact with him.

"Babcock? Tell me, by God."

"The end result is that you lose your mind. You become Zabini's puppet. But not before a very slow, agonizing process of your body fighting against it."

There was a sharp intact of breath from the bed. Scorpius looked over in mild surprise at Lily, as if he had forgotten she was there.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" she demanded.

"There's supposedly a potion that cures it, but I don't have it. One of the others does, but I'm not sure who. Certainly not Bulstrode—he's too thick to be trusted with something like that."

"How much time do I have?" asked Scorpius quietly.

Babcock hesitated. "The later stages are already starting to set in. I'd give you no more than forty-eight hours."

Scorpius nodded, as if he had expected as much.

"I told Potter to make haste, hopefully he listened."

"Did you tell him what was happening to me?" asked Scorpius sharply once more.

"No, just that there wasn't very much time," replied Babcock, blinking in surprise.

"Hell," said Scorpius, as if he was commenting on the weather.

"Aptly put," said Babcock.

"So is this what all of you have been planning?" asked Lily. "To make an army with the Culling Blade?"

Babcock gave her a look of impressed surprise. "How'd you guess?"

"Seems like something the villains would do in a story," she muttered. Then louder, "Why can't you just show us out of here? If there are really alarms like you say, you can clearly get around them."

"I'm sorry, Red," said Babcock, and Lily thought he actually did look genuinely sorry. "But I can't do that. If I just let you guys walk away, there's no chance of pardon for me or my dad. I need to be responsible for bringing this whole thing in. It's the only way."

"I understand," said Lily quietly.

"I need to get out of here. Just be on the look out for something big, I wager you won't miss it when everyone arrives. It should be hell of a battle. Also remember that if something gets sticky, I'll do the best I can to help. If it helps out more at first, I might pretend to still be with them. That doesn't mean I'm not just waiting for the perfect opportunity to turncoat."

Scorpius simply nodded, as Babcock rose and headed for the door. Just as he reached it, Lily spoke up.

"Babcock."

"Yes?"

"Don't ever call me Red again."

The light from Lily's wand barely reached where the Slytherin boy stood, and his face was half in shadow. That didn't prevent Lily from seeing the ghost of a smile playing around his lips.

"Okay, Red." Then he was gone.

"I hope Albus got all those Aurors," said Lily.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, "I hope."

**. . . . . .**

It was dawn when Baddock and Albus finally set down on one of the towers of the castle. They had flown with essentially no stops, and luckily Babcock's directions had proven true and they had had no trouble in finding their way. Now there was just one trick: getting inside.

"Alright, how do we manage this?" asked Baddock.

"You're asking me? Aren't you supposed to be the Ravenclaw?"

"I've been following you; I figured you knew what you were doing."

"Well...that's interesting to know," said Albus, brushing a hand through his unruly locks. Baddock would go to her grave before she admitted it—at least at this point—but she thought he looked really cute when he did that. Dragging her mind off of that train of thought, she focused on the issue at hand.

"Babcock didn't mention how to get in?" she asked.

"You read the letter over my shoulder," pointed out Albus. "You know as much as I do."

"True..." she mused. "What an idiot. Bloody Slytherins. You would think they'd be pretty good at planning, seeing as they spend so much time trying to be cunning."

"Maybe it's because they _try_, but don't _succeed _at being cunning."

"Well, you can't say anything. Everybody knows that Gryffindors are Hogwart's way of killing off the excess population," said Baddock.

"What is that supposed to mean?" demanded Albus.

"It means, that Gryffindors are a bunch of brainless macho men whose job it is to be heroes but really only end up die trying."

"That's encouraging," sulked Albus.

"Thank you," said Baddock, throwing a wide smile at him. He grumbled something incoherent in response.

A sharp howling cut through the air from somewhere far below. Albus and Baddock both looked over the edge of the tower nervously.

"_What _was that?" demanded Baddock.

"I bet it was one of the Culling Blade's victims," said Albus.

"Explain that."

Albus sighed. "Basically the Culling Blade turns anyone it touches into a mindless demonic being who serves the person who turned them."

Baddock whistled. "That sounds fun."

"I know, right. Especially in the hands of a bunch of demented Slytherins. Now, back to actually getting _in _to the castle. That's where I'm stuck," said Albus matter-of-factly. I didn't see anything that looked like an entrance as we came in."

"Me neither," said Baddock, looking thoughtful. "But I did see some windows, we could try breaking in through those."

"Eh, I'd prefer not to enter that way. Even if it would work. If we have to, I'm willing to try. I just want to make sure we have no other options, first."

"Well, let me know when you come up with something," said Baddock, leaning against the low parapet and crossing her arms, watching Albus.

Albus stroked his chin, attempting to make it look like he was thinking hard about it—when in reality he had no clue what to do. However, he just managed to make himself look quite comical in Baddock's eyes, but she was gracious and didn't make a comment on it.

"We could try the forest floor," suggested Albus. "There might be a door down there that we can't see from up here."

"And risk hordes of demonic who-knows-whats?" asked Baddock in disbelief. "I'd rather not."

"Well," said Albus, thinking of options once more. "We could do another fly around and see if we find a way in."

"That could be done," said Baddock, and for a brief moment of hope, Albus thought they had come up with a plan. However, his joy was not to be. "Or, that could just get us spotted, and then we'd be good as dead to Scorpius and Lily."

"Then you decided what we do," snapped Albus. "You're such a plan killer," he sulked.

"I think we should locate a window from where we are, that way we know exactly where we're going once we leave this tower. We make straight for it, and blast through it. Simple."

Albus grumbled indistinctly, but before either of them could do anything, a door appeared in the stone tiles between them. It swung open inward, revealing a dark staircase leading deeper into the castle.

They both stared at it, then Albus looked up and stared at Baddock. "What do we do?" he asked.

Baddock looked annoyed at him turning to her for aid. "I don't know. Seems suspicious to me. Why would a secret door just open, letting us in?"

"Maybe it's Babcock, helping us out from somewhere in the castle," pointed out Albus. "That would make sense, since he's probably around others and can't get away himself."

"If Babcock knows we've arrived, then it's very possible others could to," said Baddock.

"Well, in either case, we have a way in, and no plans as to how to find another. I say we take it."

Baddock shrugged. "You're the leader."

They promptly used a shrinking spell on their brooms, and stowed them in the pockets of their robes. Albus lit up his wand, before hesitantly making his way onto the first of the steps. As he did this, a torch leapt alight on the wall, making him jump a foot in the air.

"Merlin!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, Merlin's right. You're as skittish as a kitten," said Baddock, frowning.

Albus glared at her, but then doused the light of his wand and continued forward. The staircase spiraled down and out of sight, making them blind to anything further than a couple feet ahead of them. As they went, torches would light up on the wall, and then go out again once they where a decent ways past.

At last they came out onto a large corridor that stretched before them and out of sight into darkness. They started forward together, wands out and at the ready. They passed many grand tapestries and painting as they went. Most depicted things that both teenagers would not have minded not seeing.

Each time they came to a door, they would slowly and hesitantly swing it open, wands at the ready. For the quarter of an hour or so, they only found abandoned bedrooms and sitting rooms. All furnished rather lavishly, and with walls adorned with more tapestries.

They came to the last door on the corridor, before the hallway took a sharp turn in two different directions. Just as hesitantly as before, Albus opened the door, hope twisting in his stomach that it might be what they looked for.

He was disappointed.

The room that was before his eyes seemed to be abandoned. It was a library. One of the largest libraries he had ever seen in fact. Bookshelves lined every wall and were stacked on one another all the way up into the darkness that stretched above them. There were great moving staircases that rolled back and forth along the shelves, allowing one to get to the books that would ordinarily be out of reach.

Large velvet couches were scattered about the room. Each having a lamp and a table nearby, so as to aid any studious comer.

Albus wasn't sure why, but he felt compelled, and stepped forward into the room. He half-expected Baddock to protest. But she didn't. She followed him silently, clearly as curious as he was.

Albus walked into the center of the room, Baddock right behind him. He stared up toward the ceiling, but there was none visible. Only swirls of darkness could be seen.

"_Stupefy_!" suddenly resounded throughout the room from many different voices.

Albus was not son of Harry Potter for nothing. He reacted on the instant, grabbing Baddock and pulling her to the ground with him as numerous jets of light soared over his head.

Suddenly figures started to emerge from the dark corners of the of the room, all with wands outstretched and pointed at the two teenagers that were almost completely encircled.

"_Expelliarmus_!" he bellowed in response, as he struggled to his feet, dragging Baddock with him. He was rewarded as he saw a wand fly from one of his attackers hands.

Albus shoved Baddock in the direction of the door. "Run!" he yelled.

Baddock did as ordered, figuring she would be no use if she was captured. As she sped toward escape she fired a spell over her shoulder. She turned back to the door only to find another assailant blocking the way. "_Stupefy_!" was the last thing she heard.

Albus ran to the side, dogging spells left and right. He jumped onto a couch, running along it as he fired spells at some of his attackers. Leaping the back of the piece of furniture, he landed in a run, ducking as a jet of light barely zipped over his head, ruffling his hair.

Another salvo of spells came shooting at him, and this time he had nowhere to dodge to, for there were too many.

A blue hex hit him in the side, throwing him into the air and crashing into a bookcase. He fell to the ground as he was showered in tumbling tomes. His wand spun from his hand and skidded across the floor, fetching up against the foot of none other than Babcock, who had poorly concealed disappointment all over his features. Lucky for him, no one was looking at him.

"Gotcha, Potty!" trilled Aubrielle, bounding over to gloat down at him.

"I hate you," said Albus, glaring at her.

Aubrielle giggled. "Come now, you don't mean that."

"Oh, trust me, I do" was the reply.

Driscoll Sr. emerged and looked down at him in disgust. "You and that Malfoy boy sure have been bitter disappointments, Potter."

Albus struggled to his feet, and to his surprise, they all let him.

Bulstrode Sr. came strolling over, the limp form of Baddock in his arms. "What do I do with this one?" he grunted.

"Put her with the rest, why not let them have a lovely reunion?" said Driscoll Sr. "Zabini, will you take this one, too?"

Zabini Sr. stepped forth out of the dark. "Sure. I'd be glad to." White teeth flashed briefly against his dark skin.

As Albus was dragged roughly out into the corridor and down the hall, all he could think was, _I've let them down. I've let them down. It's all over now._

**Author's Note:**

**Believe it or not, we're almost done with this story! Yay! =D**


	24. The Truth

**Author's Note:**

**I know it's been awhile, and I'm sorry. But I've been really busy and traveling a lot and such. We're really close to the end now, it's just at a fingertips distance. =P Well, at the distance of me actually getting my butt into my chair and typing it, actually. Anyways, here's the chapter.**

Chapter 24: The Truth

"Oh, Merlin, no. Please tell me they're just pulling our legs."

"Yeah, this pretty much epically sucks," sighed Lily.

"You're telling me," replied Scorpius, surveying Albus who was struggling to his feet after having just been shoved through into the room. Baddock's limp form lay on the ground beside him.

"You're both alright," said Albus brightly.

Scorpius stared at the other boy as if he had lost his mind. "You seriously come here, get captured, and then have the nerve to try and be optimistic?"

"Well, I was trying to look on the bright side."

"In this situation, there is no bright side," pointed out Scorpius.

"Hey, at least we're all together," said Albus in annoyance. Scorpius rolled his eyes, turning away from his friend.

"What is _she _doing here?" asked Lily, pointing an accusatory finger at the still form of Baddock.

"Long story," said Albus.

"You know," said Scorpius, turning back toward Albus, "I'm supposed to be the rash stupid one who rushes off at a whim, not you."

Albus looked quite offended at this remark. "I'm allowed to be stupid sometimes too you know."

"Not when all our lives are on the line," yelled Scorpius, bright red spots of anger appearing high up on his cheek bones. The contrast to the paleness of his skin was startling.

"I'm sorry; I wasn't thinking," muttered Albus sheepishly.

"You got that right," snapped Scorpius. "You blew pretty much our only chance."

Albus shifted uncomfortably, but didn't seem to have anything to say to that. Finally, after a couple moments of stressed silence, "Is there no way to get out of this room?"

"No," said Lily. "The windows appear to be spell proof. At least against anything we can do to them. And the door only opens from the outside."

"Drat," said Albus.

"Yeah, and just think, it's all your fault," said Scorpius from across the room where he sulked in one of the corners.

"Sorry," mumbled Albus again, not looking at his friend.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, revealing Driscoll Jr., Babcock Jr., and Zabini Jr. To Lily, Scorpius, and Albus's surprise, Rose was with them as well.

"Well, hello there," said Driscoll, an evil smile spreading slowly across his mouth. He eased into the room, Rose coming with him as he had an arm laced around her waist.

Albus cast a nervous glance at Scorpius, who had gone as stiff and still as a board. Lily was staring in open-mouthed amazement Rose, not believing her eyes.

"What, is something the matter?" asked Driscoll in mock surprise. "Oh, silly me, you couldn't possibly be surprised to see Rose here with me, could you? Surely you must have realized that her feelings for me were great enough that I trusted her with our plan. Naturally she has cooperated fully with them."

"Of course, darling," said Rose, laughing her light, bubbly laugh.

Albus shot Scorpius another glance. The blonde boy looked as if a piece of something had died inside of him.

"Rose, what are you playing at?" snapped Albus. "Stop this ridiculousness, now."

"What _are _you talking about, cousin? Everyone here is concerned with England's best interests. If you were smart you'd come along with us, join us."

"Don't talk nonsense, Rose," gasped Lily. "You can't possibly think that."

"What?" said Rose in such genuine surprise that Albus knew she really must believe to her very bones what she was saying. "Of course I do. Driscoll's told me all about it. It's magnificent."

"Rose...whatever he's told you, it's not true. It's all lies," said Albus desperately. He looked to Scorpius for support, but the other boy seemed to have turned in on himself and clearly was not about to come out anytime soon.

"Albus, don't talk such nonsense," admonished Rose, in a tone that was completely hers and no one else's. "I really thought you would be smarter than this. When Driscoll told me you were here, I asked him to allow me to try and talk some sense into you. But if you are determined to be so stubborn, there's nothing I can do for you."

Albus gritted his teeth in anger. "Rose-"

"I have nothing more to say to you. If you won't see the light, I won't fight with you about it," snapped Rose. "What about you, Scorpius? Are you going to be more reasonable than Albus?" asked Rose, looking past Albus and toward Scorpius.

Scorpius didn't say anything, didn't appear to even have heard her in the slightest.

Albus could see Driscoll's eyes glittering with pure malice from behind Rose, but he knew Scorpius didn't notice it, being turned away from everyone as he was.

"Fine, if none of you will use your brain and be reasonable, then we're done here."

"That's right, honey. You tried, I can give you no more than that," said Driscoll. He barely got the words out of his mouth before pulling Rose to him and kissing her.

Albus turned away in disgust, as did Lily. Scorpius didn't move or make the slightest inclination that he realized his ex and Driscoll were snogging. Albus would have thought he really didn't notice, if it hadn't been for the even tighter tense of Scorpius's shoulders, and all the noise that was coming from Driscoll and Rose. The only humor Albus found in the act was that Babcock and Zabini looked equally repulsed as the rest of them.

At last Driscoll and Rose pulled away from each other. "Well, then I guess we're leaving," said Rose, looking at them sadly.

Albus felt the urge to grab her and shake her to her senses, but resisted.

Rose and her companions turned and swept from the room, Babcock going last after shooting them all a mournful look.

A silence stretched out after the others had left. At last it was broken by Lily. "I can't believe it!"

Albus didn't reply to her, just turned toward Scorpius. "Scorpius, are you-"

"Leave me alone," was the blank and dull answer, void of all emotion.

Albus didn't know what to do, so he knelt by Baddock. "_Ennervate_," he whispered. Baddock's eyelids pulled back slowly, and her doe eyes almost took Albus's breath away. Almost.

"What happened?" she asked, slowly pulling herself into a sitting position.

"Captured," was the simple reply from Albus.

"I see," said Baddock, blinking up at Lily who was watching her with an expression mixed between loathing and disgust.

Baddock's eyes roved the room before they caught sight of Scorpius in the corner. Her eyes widened as she lunged to her feet and rushed over to him. "Scorpius, what's the matter? Are you-"

"Get away from me," Scorpius bellowed, turning and giving her such a look of hatred and anger that Baddock stumbled back as if she had been struck in the face.

"What-" began Baddock, but she stopped as Scorpius slowly sunk to the floor and buried his face in his arms.

Baddock looked to Albus, who merely shook his head.

"Ugh," was all Lily said, sinking down onto the bed.

Suddenly, a loud explosion sounded from somewhere outside.

"What the-" exclaimed Lily, leaping from the bed, and rushing to the window. Albus was close on her heels.

There, coming soaring on brooms around the large hill that the castle was built into, came the most Aurors either of them had ever seen in one place. But it wasn't just Aurors, Hugo was also there, as well as Lasair and Meallan. Even Hermione had come along. Albus also caught sight of Scorpius's dad, Draco.

Albus let out a cheer. "Hugo! I knew he'd do it. Scorpius, check this out! Even your dad is here!"

Baddock had already joined them at the window, but Scorpius didn't move or show any sign that he had heard.

The fleet of saviors on brooms flew widely around the castle a few times, but not seeing any entrance, dove toward the forest floor. Albus wished he could contact them to tell them how to really get in, but obviously he had no way of doing so.

Sounds of battle drifted up to them. Screams both human and inhuman, as well as more explosions and such. Lily just hoped that no one she knew or cared for would get hurt.

The next half hour or so passed agonizingly slowly, but there was nothing they could do about it. Baddock and Albus had sat down on the bed after realizing they couldn't see anything of the battle from the window anyway. Lily, however, had not given up hope and was still standing there, peering down to the forest below. Scorpius hadn't moved from his spot in the corner.

That's when the door burst open, revealing Zabini Sr. and Driscoll Sr.. Driscoll's Sr.'s eyes were almost popping out of his skull in livid fury, and all the teenagers shrunk away from him, except for Scorpius, who appeared, as he had for the last good length of time, not to notice.

"Come with us," snarled Driscoll, waving his wand at them and indicating for them to come. "If you struggle or try anything stupid, I'll just kill you on the spot. Don't push me, this is no joke."

Lily, Baddock, and Albus didn't protest. They meekly got to their feet and went out into the hall.

"You too," snarled Driscoll at Scorpius.

"Hah," said Scorpius in a flat, emotionless tone. "Just kill me then. I'll thank you for it."

Driscoll narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to figure out if Scorpius was messing with him. Finally, he jerked his chin in Scorpius's direction. "Zabini, get him."

Zabini Sr. didn't protest, but swept across the room. He grabbed Scorpius by the arm, and then quickly released the teenager and looked at him in alarm.

"The Culling Blade is taking this one," said Zabini, looking over at Driscoll.

"_What_?" gasped Lily and Baddock and Albus, all in unison.

Driscoll looked at the blonde boy coldly. "A fitting ending, I'd say. Still, bring him."

Zabini grabbed Scorpius once more by the arm, but this time didn't let go. He started to drag him across the room, and Scorpius didn't protest.

Albus just stared at Scorpius in horror, but Scorpius didn't look back.

The group was lead through passage way after passage way until they were back in the library were Albus and Baddock had been captured. Albus couldn't help but wonder absentmindedly how the battle was going below, but his thoughts were more on Scorpius.

"About time," said Lestraud Sr. after seeing Driscoll Sr. with his little entourage.

The rest of the group was there as well, Aubrielle, Babcock, Bulstrode, all of the parents and their kids. Rose too.

"Hmph," said Driscoll. "I still say we kill them all and run for it."

"What? So that whoever the traitor is just turns us over again? No, better to wait out the fight below. If the battle sways badly, we just use these little kiddies as hostages," said Lestraud.

"I say the traitor is Bulstrode," snapped Driscoll. "Let's kill him and be done with it."

"What did you say?" growled Bulstrode Sr.. Albus chanced a glance at Babcock, who was doing an admirable job of concealing emotion, although a bit of fear was just barely evident in his eyes.

"You heard me," said Driscoll coolly in response. "It's not like we'd lose anything by killing you even if we're wrong. You're too stupid to help out."

"Why you-" roared Bulstrode, leaping forward at Driscoll.

"_Avada kedavra!_" yelled Driscoll. A flash of green light and Bulstrode was lying dead on the floor.

"Did you have to do that?" asked Lestraud with disdain, peering with disinterest at the limp form of Bulstrode.

"Too stupid even to realize he can't beat someone with a wand with his bare hands," said Driscoll in disgust.

Albus just stared in horror at the dead body on the floor.

Suddenly there was a strangled cry from Bulstrode Jr., who, up to this point, seemed to have been having some sort of internal struggle at the new turn of events.

"Drat, I forgot about him," said Driscoll casually. "Good thing I haven't put away my wand yet."

"Like hell I'll let you do that," said Babcock Sr. in a stern tone, stepping in front of Bulstrode. "I was no fan of Bulstrode, but killing his son? Driscoll, he's just a boy."

"So?" snapped Driscoll. "We can't leave liabilities about."

"Driscoll, no," said Babcock quietly but firmly. The rest of the teenagers, excluding Driscoll Jr., seemed as equally appalled as Albus at what had happened. To Rose's credit, she was horrified too. Although Driscoll Jr. pacified her quickly.

"Oh, why not?" snarled Driscoll. "You going soft, Babcock? This is about our survival. Who cares if he's a kid, he's still got to go. Next you'll be saying I can't kill these other brats if it comes down to it." He indicated Albus and his friends.

Babcock Sr. looked over as if seeing them for the first time. He was silent for a few moments. "Kids are kids," he said softly.

Driscoll rolled his eyes. "Lestraud, tell him to steel up, or he'll be next."

Lestraud merely looked amused, she then turned these amused eyes onto Scorpius. "Aubrielle, does this lovely young gentleman know how you convinced young Mr. Potter into helping release all of us?"

Albus stared at Lestraud in horror. Scorpius also looked up, startled out of his somber world. "What does this have to do with me?" he asked.

Aubrielle stepped forward into the center of the room, an evil smile spreading across her features. "No I haven't, mother. I'm so glad you reminded me."

"Remember what I vowed, Lestraud," said Albus quietly.

That laugh Albus hated so much trilled forth. "What position are you in to do anything about it?" she asked.

"Don't you dare," said Albus, his teeth gritted in anger.

"Hah," was all Aubrielle had to say to that. "Well, Malfoy, you ready for this?"

"Like there's anything more any of you could do to me," growled Scorpius.

"I very highly doubt that," said Aubrielle in amusement.

Albus roared in anger and rushed at Aubrielle. However, the girl's mother waved her wand in a casual manner, and Albus was lifted into the air and hung suspended and helpless.

"Don't," he bellowed at Aubrielle with all his might.

Scorpius just looked at Albus in surprise. "What difference could it make?" he asked. Albus just shook his head helplessly.

"Don't listen to her, Scorpius. Don't listen," Albus begged.

Scorpius eyes were emotionless and flat as he looked at Albus, but said to Aubrielle, "Tell me."

"You see, you're my half-brother," said Aubrielle brightly.

Baddock and Lily's jaws dropped in surprise. Albus looked utterly miserable. Scorpius merely blinked at Aubrielle in misapprehension.

"I'm what?" he asked.

"My half-brother," said Aubrielle wickedly. "You see, your father had something of an attraction for my mom. One thing lead to another...you know how it works."

Scorpius just stared at Aubrielle, and then looked to Albus, and then to Aubrielle's mother. "What?" he said.

Aubrielle's mother was smiling almost as gleefully as her daughter. "That's right, young Malfoy. Did you really think that the young Potter could do anything terrible enough to be blackmailed for? The Potters are perfect, unlike the Malfoys. That's how it's always been. Malfoys continually screw up. It's in your blood. You can't keep your women, and it's no wonder, considering that you take a new one at a moment's notice."

Scorpius's face went even blanker than it had been, if that was possible.

Albus struggled once more against his invisible bonds, but it was hopeless. Giving up, he cried, "Scorpius! Don't listen to them. You know that's not true. Don't believe a word."

"If that's the case, dear Albus, then why did you not tell me before?" asked Scorpius blankly. Baddock and Lily stood where they were, as if frozen in place, not knowing what to do.

Albus didn't seem to have any come back to that, so instead he said, "Malfoys are not failures. You know that. You're dad is a good man. He came back from serving Lord Voldemort himself. He's now one of the very best Aurors the Ministry has."

"And me? What have I ever done?" said Scorpius dully, sinking to the floor, and looking at his hand as if it repulsed him.

"You?" said Albus quietly. "You've done more than I ever have. You've been the best friend that I could ever ask for. You've been there through thick and thin. You've supported me, helped me, never left me. I wouldn't be the half the man I am without you."

Scorpius shook his head, as if he didn't believe it, or as if he was telling Albus he was wrong.

"As touching as this is, I think it's gone on long enough-" began Driscoll Sr.. However, he never finished what he was going to say, for he was cut off.

"I think you've got one hell of a friend there, Scorpius, and you should listen to him," said a quiet but firm voice. Coming around the corner and stepping into the room, was none other than Draco Malfoy, his wand held tightly in his hand.

Everyone looked up in surprise, none more so than Driscoll Sr.. "You," he snarled, raising his wand.

"Wait," said Lestraud, holding up a hand. "I would like to hear what Draco has to say for himself," she said. "I would like to hear what defense he has for the accusations we put to him."

"We don't have time for this," snapped Zabini Sr.. "If he's here, others won't be far behind."

"We have time," said Lestraud in a chilling voice that froze any objections.

Draco had eyes only for his son, and Scorpius looked back with pain and mistrust the only expression on his face.

"Is it true, dad? Is it?" asked Scorpius in a hopeless voice.

Pain mirroring his son's was written all over Draco's unguarded face. "I can't deny it, son."

"Why? Why did you do it? I've always admired you like no other. How could you betray my trust like that?"

"I have no excuses, son. I must pay for my decisions. You were not even born at the time. I would like to say I was young and foolish, and I was. But that doesn't make anything better. I know I've betrayed you, son, but I would still ask your forgiveness."

"What about mom?" asked Scorpius.

"She knows," said Draco quietly. At this Lestraud herself looked genuinely surprised.

"She does?" exclaimed Lestraud.

"Oh yes," said Draco. "I was not stupid enough to try and hide my mistakes. She was the first one I told, and right away. It was painful, and it hurt our relationship, at first. But now we love each other more than ever, and nothing can come between us. I ask that you forgive me as she did, son."

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Scorpius, his voice shaking.

Draco looked away at this point. "I don't know. I suppose I was waiting for you to be old enough."

"If I'm not now, dad, when will I ever be?"

"You're right. I was wrong not to trust you," he looked back at Scorpius. "I ask that you forgive me, and I know I won't have your trust back, right away, but I can only hope with time that I can replace it."

Scorpius opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"As touching as this is, I've had enough," yelled Driscoll. "Time for you to pay for putting me in Azkaban, Malfoy. Prepare to die!" Driscoll leapt forward, his mouth starting to form the words of the killing curse.

Just then, one of the windows shattered inwards.


	25. The End

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry it took so long to write this. I have no legit excuse. Basically I became sick of this story and no longer wanted to write it. But finally I gritted my teeth and got around to just doing it. I know the fight scene that covers the first half of the chapter or so is very confusing and muddled, but I really have no stamina to go through and clear it all up, so I hope you forgive me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the last installment. =] It's been a good run.**

Chapter 25: The End

The window shattered inward, as two streaks of green, and one of red came hurtling through. One of the flash of green crashed into Driscoll, cutting of his spell and taking them both flying across the room.

The other flash of green, and the one of red, hit the ground and rolled to their feet.

A huge grin spread across Hugo Weasley's face. His hair stuck out in all directions, making it truly look like a fire burned on the top of his head.

"Sorry I'm late," he said.

Chaos broke forth in the room.

Lestraud was suddenly dueling Draco, they danced back and forth, each fighting for the upper hand.

Zabini Jr. and Aubrielle were taking on Baddock and Lily, the later two fighting side by side, their similar fiery hair twirling about them as they spun and pivoted.

Babcock Sr. made a move toward the second green streak that turned out to be Lasair, but his son threw himself into his father sending him stumbling back. "No, dad!" yelled Babcock Jr..

Lasair and Hugo were now fighting side by side as Zabini Sr., and Driscoll Jr. came at them fiercely sending curses spitting at them in rapid fashion.

Albus still struggled against his invisible bonds, but to no use. Scorpius was trying to get to his feet, but his limbs had become almost completely numb, and were practically uncontrollably by him.

Meallan—indeed the one who was the first green streak that had crashed into Driscoll Sr—was blasted back and off of his opponent. He scrambled back onto his feet as Driscoll did the same.

Driscoll sent curse after curse at him, and Meallan responded by shooting spears of lightning from the tips of his fingers. Driscoll swore colorfully as he dodged these deadly bits of magic. "What _are _you?" he spat.

Meallan laughed as he pressed forward, shooting more bits of lightning. "You could never comprehend."

"Take this!" yelled Aubrielle, sending a spell shooting at Lily so fast that she had no chance to dodge. Lily sank like a rock to the floor.

Aubrielle wasted no time. She rushed toward Hugo and Lasair, firing off a variety of hexes.

Lasair saw her coming, and spun on his feet, sending showers of small pellets of fire at his opponent. The fire devoured the hexes as the excess went at Aubrielle. Aubrielle dived to the side, sliding away from harm.

Driscoll Jr. saw the opening and sent a curse firing at Lasair's unguarded side. Hugo saw this and stepped in the way, using a simple _protego _to block it.

However, Hugo didn't factor Zabini Sr. in. The dark men sent another killing curse firing at the redhead.

"No!" roared Lasair. The tall man—or whatever he was—only had time to knock Hugo to the side, taking the killing curse in his chest. Lasair dropped on the instant.

"Lasair," screamed Hugo in horror.

Babcock Jr., having now managed to convince his father that they were on the Aurors' side, immediately released Albus.

Albus fell to his feet, and immediately charged to protect Hugo.

"Here," called Babcock, throwing Albus's wand to him, which he had acquired at the time of the dark-haired boy's capture.

Both Babcock and Albus leapt into the fight to protect Hugo. Babcock's dad, on the other hand, went to help out Draco, who was being worked into a corner by Lestraud.

Driscoll Jr. blasted Babcock out of the way and into one of the bookshelves. "Traitor, we'll deal with you later," he snarled. Driscoll ran over to where Rose had been standing this whole time, frozen and not doing anything. Unwilling to turn on Driscoll's companions, but equally horrified at the idea of fighting her old friends and relatives. "Time to go, honey," said Driscoll, grabbing Rose by the arm and dragging her from the room.

However, their departure did not go unnoticed. Finally having managed to get to his feet, Scorpius rushed after them. He wasn't as fast as he usually would have been, but still, he was managing to move.

Meallan had manged to work Driscoll Sr. up against the fireplace, and now the man had no where to run. Still, the only expression on the man's face was one of snarling anger.

Meallan raised his hand, ready to send the last get of lightning that would finish his opponent. That's when Bulstrode Jr., who up until this point had been struggling with emotions in the middle of the room on the floor, unnoticed by all, leapt in front of Driscoll, screaming, "I'm going to kill you for what you did to my dad!"

Meallan hesitated, his target now being blocked. Driscoll grinned madly, and gave his wand a wide sweep. Bulstrode was blasted back into Meallan, and both went crashing over backward and landed in a heap.

Driscoll turned and ran for the door, planning to leave everyone else to their fate.

Seeing the Driscolls starting to run for it, and that the Babcocks had betrayed them, Aubrielle started to despair. Ducking under a stunning spell sent by Albus, she sprinted for the door. However, Albus wasn't going to let her get away that easily.

Aubrielle was now out in the hall, tearing off down it. Albus was hard on her heels, firing salvos of spells after her. Aubrielle nimbly dodged left and right, ducking her and spinning there, leaving all of Albus's attacks flying off harmlessly.

"Face me," roared Albus after the fleeing Aubrielle. "Fight me."

Aubrielle's taunting laugh that he abhorred came floating back over her shoulder at him. "Keep dreaming, little Potter."

Albus attempted to put more speed into his legs, but no matter how fast he attempted to run, Aubrielle always seemed to be those few steps ahead of him. Despite the situation, he marveled at her speed.

Lucky for Albus, Aubrielle seemed to be almost as clueless about the geography of the castle as he was. Whipping around a corner, she dashed through a door only to find herself on a balcony, extended far above the trees below.

Aubrielle spun around ready to defend herself.

"_Expelliarmus_!" yelled Albus shooting out onto the balcony after her and firing off his spell before she had even managed to turn and face him fully.

Aubrielle's wand arced up into the air and over the railing, falling to the trees below.

Even though he was now outside, the sounds of battle were starting to grow faint. It seemed that the fight had almost been decided, for better or for worst.

Aubrielle backed up until her back was pressed against the railing, her arms hung limply beside her side.

Albus extended his wand forward, pointing it directly at Aubrielle's chest.

"Come now, Albus," said Aubrielle in a voice as sweet as liquid sugar, "we both know you're not a killer."

"You know what, I think you're right," said Albus.

Surprised flashed across Aubrielle's face, briefly.

"I couldn't kill you. I doubt I could really kill anyone. And in the end it doesn't matter, you tried your best, and you failed. Scorpius and his dad will get past this, they'll move on and perhaps have an even stronger friendship than before. And anyway, even if I could kill you, I don't think I'd do it. There is something to be said for justice, but more for mercy. You deserve my pity, not my hatred. You've got a screwed up life and a screwed up mom. You need help, that's what you need."

Livid fury flashed across Aubrielle's face. "How dare you say that about me or my mom. How dare you say I deserve your pity, that I need help. I need help from no one, and no one's pity either. I spit on your mercy. You'll pay for speaking to me like that, you little filth."

Aubrielle lunged forward at Albus, but he had a wand, and she stood no chance.

"_Stupefy_," was all it took on Albus's part. There was a flash of red light, and then Aubrielle was sprawled motionless on the floor.

Albus sighed down at her. "Oh well, what more can I do? I'll send an Auror for you." With that, Albus turned and hurried back inside.

**. . . . . .**

Scorpius shuffled as fast as he could into the room that he had seen Driscoll Jr. and Rose disappear into. It appeared to be a large ballroom, with shiny wood floors and floor to ceiling mirrors that formed almost the entirety of all the walls. There was a sliding glass door onto a balcony at the far side of the room. Three brooms stood side by side leaning against the railing of the balcony.

Driscoll Jr. stood with one hand on Rose's wrist, the other on the handle to the balcony door.

"Stop right there," said Scorpius in a low voice, nevertheless it carried across the room easily.

To his immense surprise, Driscoll did stop. His hand slowly fell from the handle on the door.

Driscoll slowly turned to face Scorpius, a small smile forming across his lips. "Well, well, well, if it isn't little Scorpius Malfoy."

"Let her go, Driscoll," said Scorpius, raising his wand.

"What if she doesn't want to go?" asked Driscoll. Although he did slowly take out his own wand.

"She does, I know it," said Scorpius, looking at Rose. However, the girl would not look back, her face was turned toward Driscoll.

"Do her words or her actions dictate that to you, Malfoy? If they do, you're a lot thicker than I ever took you for."

"You're right, her words and actions might not speak that, but my heart still tells me something is wrong, that she's not in complete control."

Driscoll laughed. It was a deep, low chuckle. "You fool. Your heart tells you that because that's what you desire. But it's not true, Malfoy. She simply loves me far more than whatever it was she felt for you."

Scorpius looked away, his eyes smarting slightly, but then he got control over himself quickly, and glared fiercely back over at Driscoll. "That's not true," he said quietly. "She says nothing now, why do you suppose that is? It's because she still does care for me, at least a little bit." Scorpius said it with confidence, but he did not feel so sure.

"Tell him, Rose. Tell him he is delusional," said Driscoll. Rose seemed to be struggling within herself, as if not sure what to do. This caused Driscoll to frown, but it caused Scorpius's hopes to soar.

"Hm, it appears there must be a flaw somewhere. It's not as perfect as I thought," said Driscoll.

"So you did do something to her," cried Scorpius in triumph.

"Yes, I did," said Driscoll. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore, I've done what I wished. I've caused the pain, and gotten the justice and revenge I desired."

"Wait, what? Justice and revenge?" wondered Scorpius, suddenly things seemed crystal clear to him, as if pieces of a puzzle had just fallen into place.

"Yes, justice and revenge, Malfoy. I did the impossible. I created a curse that makes someone fall in love with me. Finer than the Imperius Curse and more subtle than any love potion. I then used this curse on Rose. I wanted you to feel pain, to know what it is your dad caused me to go through. And through your pain, your father will experience pain as well, it's complete revenge I'd say."

"I see," said Scorpius quietly. "But you didn't factor in one thing, I'd say. You didn't factor in the person's heart with which you were messing. A person's feelings are stronger than any sort of magic, Driscoll. And even though it might have taken a while, Rose's are finally starting to break through your curse."

Driscoll chuckled. "Yes, I admit, I overlooked some things. However, it doesn't matter, the pain is caused, and will never be wiped away."

"Not true," said Scorpius quietly and confidently. "I now know there was no reality in any of it. I know Rose had no choice and did not truly feel anything for you. We can recover from this to go on, I know we can. It's over for you, Driscoll."

"Oh, is that so?" said Driscoll. "I wouldn't say so." He didn't look worried in the slightest. "I figured that the damage I did to you through Rose wouldn't be permanent if I were to let her go, so I came up with a back up plan."

"And what's that?" asked Scorpius.

"Kill her," said Driscoll simply. Scorpius was so stunned by this, that he had no time to react and intervene. The flash of green light was bright and blinding. When it disappeared, Rose, who up until now had been standing silently struggling within herself against Driscoll, lay limply on the floor, her eyes blank and staring.

"No," was all Scorpius screamed, as he sank slowly to the floor, all strength and resolution gone from him.

The pounding of footsteps could be heard resonating down the hall.

"Now I'm going to kill you," said Driscoll, although Scorpius made no move in the slightest to prevent him. "_Avada Kedavra!_"

"_Protego!_"

Driscoll looked up in surprise, to see Albus Potter standing framed in the doorway. His black hair was more unruly then ever, and his eyes were alight with adrenaline and determination.

"You are never, ever going to hurt Scorpius in the slightest again," said Albus quietly.

Driscoll raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I think I will. _Avada Kedavra!_"

This killing curse was aimed at Albus, who dove out of the way, rolling to his feet and firing off a stunning spell.

Driscoll side stepped easily, causing the spell to shatter the glass door onto the balcony.

Albus fired off a salvo of spells, forcing Driscoll to do some quick maneuvering left and right, hissing in anger.

Scorpius still sat on the floor where he had sunk earlier, the look on his face and in his eyes not suggesting that he would be moving anytime soon.

Driscoll fired off a jet of black light that Albus was not quite quick enough to dodge. He went flying back through the air and slammed into floor to ceiling mirror by the door. The sound of shattering glass filled the room as Albus fell to the floor, pieces of the mirror raining down around him.

Driscoll sprinted toward Albus from across the room, firing off more hexes and curses.

Albus threw up some quick shield spells, and then fired a jinx that caught Driscoll in the chest. He was blasted backward and onto his back, sliding on the smooth floor.

Suddenly Driscoll Sr. was in the open doorway that lead into the hall. He spat out some furious curses in a moment, all aimed for Albus.

Albus scrambled to his feet and out of the way, continuing to dodge attacks, he crossed the short distance to where Scorpius sat unmoving in the middle of the floor.

"Scorpius, we need to get out of here, now," bellowed Albus, linking his arms under Scorpius's armpits.

"It's over for the both of you," snarled Driscoll Sr..

"_Avada Kedavra_!" hissed two voices simultaneously. Two jets of green light flew across the room toward each other, one from Driscoll Sr. in the doorway, one from Driscoll Jr. who was on the floor at the opposite end of the room. Albus and Scorpius were both directly between them, the curses coming straight toward them.

"Move," yelled Albus, pushing off the floor and backward with all of his might. Scorpius's limp body came with the black-haired teenager as he tumbled over backward and out of harms way.

The two jets of green light now passed each other in midair, the father's curse heading for the surprised son, and the son's curse heading for the surprised father.

Driscoll Sr. barely managed to twist out of the way, letting the curse sail harmlessly by, his son was not so lucky. The lifeless body of Driscoll Jr. slumped over and onto itself, the expression of astonishment still written across its now-lifeless features.

The expression written all over Driscoll Sr.'s face was not one of horror or pain, merely one of fury. His eyes practically bulged from their sockets as he stared at Albus in rage. "You—look what you've made me do? I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully for this." He started toward the teenager, his hands outstretched as if to grab him by the neck and strangle him.

Albus slowly lowered Scorpius back to the floor, and snapped his wand up, ready to fight.

Running steps could be heard in a corridor not to far off, and the sound of raised voices calling in worry.

Driscoll halted, listening. As if deciding Albus really wasn't worth the risk, he suddenly rushed across the room, past the dead form of his son, and out onto the balcony. Grabbing a broom, he mounted it quickly. He cast one last glance back at Albus, who had his wand pointed at the man, but nevertheless did not look like he was going to use it. "This isn't over, it's never over," he hissed. With that, he turned and flew off into the sky.

Albus did nothing to try and stop him, but instead put his wand within his robes, and rushed over to his friend. He fell to the ground beside him, unsure of what to do. Up until now fear and adrenaline had kept him going, but now that they were wearing off, his own emotions were starting to crash down over him as he realized that his cousin was really in fact dead. To try and keep himself distracted, he focused on his friend.

"Scorpius, are you...alright?"

"Alright? Alright? No, I'm not alright," said the blonde, his voice quiet and full of despair. "I did nothing. My gut told me something was wrong, but I didn't follow it, I just believed she didn't care about me as much as she always said. As it turned out, I was the one who didn't care enough. It was me who failed her, not the other way around."

"You did everything you could."

"No, no I didn't. I knew she wasn't herself, I knew it, Albus. But still, that wasn't enough to make me truly act, and now she has paid the price, and it was all my fault, all my fault." Tears started to slowly spill down Scorpius's cheeks, though he did not make a sound.

Albus put one hand quietly on his friend's shoulder, and they sat like that, neither saying another word, until the Aurors finally found them.

**. . . . . .**

_**Two Weeks Later**_

"Hey, how are you holding up?" Baddock asked Albus, walking up beside him. They were up on the Astronomy Tower, Albus standing at the parapet, staring off over the shining grounds, the snow brightly reflecting the midday sun.

"I'm doing okay," said Albus, truthfully. It had been a hard couple of weeks, but he was making it through, they all were.

Baddock slowly slid her hand into his, and Albus didn't even start, it seemed so natural.

"They just announced the result of the trial," said Baddock, pulling back a stray lock of her red-gold hair as the light breeze blew it in front of her face.

"And?" asked Albus.

"All the adults have lifetime sentences in Azkaban, except for Babcock's father, who only has six months. All the kids have the six months, except for Babcock, who got off with just two weeks."

"That's good," said Albus, "about Babcock and his father, I mean. Babcock did so much for us, he doesn't deserve Azkaban. It makes me shudder to think about him being in there, even for just two weeks."

"Yeah, but the Ministry has decided," said Baddock.

Albus sighed. "I just hope they find Aubrielle and Driscoll as soon as possible." While Albus had chased down Aubrielle and the Driscolls, the Aurors had found the rest of their friends fighting in the library, their work had been short and cut out for them. Once they had found Albus he had told them where he had left Aubrielle, but they had returned there to find her gone, and nobody had found her since, although they were on the search.

"Hey, look, it's Scorpius," said Baddock, her hand that wasn't holding Albus's going up to point. Sure enough, there he was, down by the lake. Even though it was a decent distance from them, his dark cloak was a stark contrast to the snow, and his blonde hair a contrast with the cloak. He wasn't alone, the splash of red hair walking by him was all to easy to recognize. "It's fortunate that the Aurors found that healing potion for the Culling Blade on Lestraud, or he'd be lost to us."

"It is, and we got it to him just in the nick of time, too," said Albus.

"What's your sister doing with him?"

"Probably talking, they do that a lot these days," said Albus, watching his best friend with a curious expression on his face. "She seems to help him cope with all that has happened in a way I can't."

"Well, you can't always do everything for him, Albus."

"I tell you, no one knows that like I do."

**. . . . . .**

"You don't think we should tell him?" asked Meallan of his brother who stood next to him.

"No, he no longer needs me," said Lasair, watching the redhead fondly. The two brothers stood side by side right in front of Hugo, but they were invisible to him, and he could not hear them. They were in the entrance hall, the redhead looking out through the open doors and across the snowy expanse.

"It would seem he grew quite fond of you," said Meallan.

"Yes, but it does not matter. We cannot allow for emotions to play in with our duty. Besides, he still has you to look after him."

"And I'll do my very best."

"Hugo!" The redhead and both invisible brothers turned at the voice. Monique waved and came walking over from the Great Hall.

"Hey, Monique," said Hugo.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" asked the silver-haired girl.

"It is, it most definitely is," said Hugo.

"Do you think they'll ever be a—what is it called—couple, again?" asked Meallan.

"I do not know, I do not see the future," said Lasair with a chuckle. "But what's important is that they're closer friends than they ever were before."

"I guess that's true."

"I must be going, my next assignment awaits, but I think I can spare a few more minutes. Would you like to take a flight with me, through the heavens, my brother, before we must be parted?"

"Most gladly, my brother."

The next instant both were completely gone, having left to go who-knows-where, flying through the heavens, as Lasair would say.

**Author's Note:**

**And it's over! I hope you liked the ending. Tell me what you thought about how everything wrapped up in a review. And that reminds me, thanks to all who reviewed! EVERY SINGLE ONE was appreciated and helped a lot. And I'll tell you now, nothing provides stamina to write like knowing there are people out there who like your stuff enough to review. Anyways, I know I kind of left some stuff open and the possibility of a sequel, I'm DEFINITELY not promising anything now, but who knows, maybe one day I will write one. =] At least for now, I'm done with fanfiction. I'm going to start working on an original fantasy novel of my own, that I'll hope to maybe get published. So wish me luck, and look for something by yours truly, Thani Mag, in the future. And always remember, everybody likes tapioca pudding, ;]**


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